Europe & Beyond

The beaches, history and luxury of St. Tropez

If you are holiday on the Côte d’Azur, France, St. Tropez is a must-see stop. Whether you stay for a day, or rent a villa for a week, St. Tropez is an excellent escape from the busy pace of modern life. Spend time sunbathing on the glittering white sandy beaches, or discover the fascinating history of what people generally think of as the playground of the rich and famous.

With shopping and nightlife to rival Hollywood, dramatic landscapes, and charming villas, the wealthy and famous have flocked here since the late 1950s. During the winter and spring off-seasons, St. Tropez is not crowded, but the traffic becomes heavier in the summertime when the beach weather is perfect.

St. Tropez has been known as a haven throughout its history. In the 1920s, international fashion stars escaped to this stunning destination, which also became a beach landing site during World War II. In the 1950s Brigitte Bardot made it known as a luxury holiday destination.

Now this modern version of a medieval town has many events all year to draw visitors to its shores. Set on the sparkling Bay of Saint-Tropez, St. Tropez hosts an internationally renowned regatta, Les Voiles, at the end of September each year. The International Polo Cup takes place in July and the Gold Cup is held in the autumn. A vintage car rally, Rallye des Belles, is held each May. Also in May is the St. Tropez Bravade, a military parade in honor of the town’s patron saint.

The best beaches are a car ride away, however there are a few near the center of town. The largest collection of beaches is the Pampelonne-Ramatuelle Beaches just 3km south of St. Tropez. The Plage de Tahiti, just southeast of town is another popular destination. Many nude beaches dot the area as well.

If you need a break from the sun, visit Musee de l’Annonciade. Housed in an abandoned chapel, this museum has a rich modern art collection, including works by Signac, the first Parisian artist to settle in St Tropez. The Citadel, built between 1590 and 1607, is a well-preserved hexagonal fortress. Inside the Citadel is a Museum of Shipping and Local History. Three defensive towers – Guillaume Tower, Portalet Tower and Jarlier Tower, offer spectacular views of the bay.

Spend time meandering down the small winding streets and stop in one of St. Tropez’s many terrace cafes. The old town is just west of the Citadel and is filled with boutiques and restaurants. If you walk on Rue du Portail-Neuf, you can visit the Italian Baroque 18th century church in which stands a bust of St-Tropez. Northwest of the church you can see the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) and the palace of Pierre-André de Suffren, an important French admiral who participated in the War of the Austrian Succession.

From here, wander over to the Mole Jean-Réveille, a man-made pier enclosing the harbor from the north, and enjoy a spectacular view of the town’s seafront, yachts and luxury St Tropez Villas.

Place aux Herbes is the most bustling of the town’s squares. You can buy all the vegetables, flowers, and fresh meats that you could wish for here. The St. Tropez tourist information office is located here. If you would like to see some of St. Tropez’s traditional street entertainment and a game of boules, head to Place des Lices, where you can also enjoy the most casual dining in town.

St. Tropez even has some hiking. A 12km coastal footpath begins at the Portalet Tower of the Citadel and takes you across gorgeous coastline all the way to Pampelonne Beach.

Ideas for Valentine’s Day breaks

One of the most exciting ways to spend Valentine’s Day is somewhere foreign and romantic, so consider whisking your loved one away for a weekend. Whether you look online, in newspapers or in travel agents, you’ll find a whole host of special Valentine’s travel deals right now. Most combine romantic destinations with luxury accommodation, a gourmet meal, Valentine flowers and perhaps some other activities.

At the cheaper end of the scale, for example, Eurostar is offering a two night valentine’s break to Paris including Eurostar travel, a 3 star central hotel, and breakfast – from £189 each. Usually you can get good value from regional low cost arlines to fly to France but for a special Valentine treat consider booking scheduled flights to Paris and trying to upgrade your seats.

If you’re out to impress, you could celebrate Valentine’s Day in Champagne over a glass or two of the vintage stuff. Grape Escapes is offering a Valentine’s gift package in Reims where you’ll enjoy a bottle of Champagne on arrival, and a candlelit four-course gourmet dinner at a local restaurant. The package doesn’t come cheap, costing from £365 each, but this also includes return Dover-Calais ferry crossing for a car and two people, (scheduled flights to France and pre-booked car hire in France can be arranged but will cost more) two nights’ accommodation in Reims, a full day coach tour of Champagne houses with tastings, and a four-course lunch at a top local restaurant with Champagnes and wines.

If you’d rather stay in the UK, Macdonald Hotels Compleat Angler Hotel are offering a package beside the Thames at Marlow in Buckinghamshire, including two nights dinner, B&B, champagne, flowers, chocolates and strawberries. Prices start from £449 for the two of you. The hotel’s gorgeous river views, candlelit dining and four-poster beds promise a weekend of romance.

Just reading about some of the half term ski holiday deals still availble for half term and took note of the a deal based at Valmorel – a far cry from the luxury ski resort of Kilimandjaro.  It is usual to fly from gatwick to grenoble to visit this resort but low cost airlines are slashing prices on flights to Nice where holiday makers can hire a car to complete the journey to resort.

Car rental firms in Europe have always been ready to supply special tyres in readiness for the usual conditions.  Winterized vehicles are supplied with all-weather tyres and in some regions you can have snow tyres fitted.

Many skiing holidays in France begin with cheap flights to Nice airport where groups have arrange their own car hire. Nice, in the south of France, is a major destination for both summer and increasingly winter travellers in search of low cost ski holidays.  Depending on the conditions of the ski resort you are travelling to you can request tyre chains when you book your car hire.  France is one of the many countries where snow chains are offered as an optional extra but the small cost could save you a lot of time and trouble should you run into uncleared roads whilst on holiday.

Driving in snow and Ice

For snow and ice – high gear and low revs gives you more torque. Move off in second, or even third if you can manage, and keep your revs just above stalling speed

When you’re not sure what the surface of the road is like I do two things. First I look for ‘diamonds’ twinkling in the light. That is ice crystals. And second, drop the window an inch and listen. If there is silence on days like this then chances are I am on an icy road. Time in both cases to slow down. Gently.

The problem in the UK is that we all use standard tyres in winter and their rubber compound has an odd characteristic that causes the coefficient of friction to dip around zero degrees Celsius. A few degrees lower or higher and they work better. So called winter tyres use a different compound to avoid this, but they wear out faster. In the Alps and other ’snow’ territories of Europe, winter tyres are obligatory and they make a huge difference. In Austria winter tyres have to be fitted by law for the six months of winter, but they certainly get you through most of the worst snow and ice situations without problems.