Sainte-Maxime

A not often-spoken-about, yet highly regarded part of the Cote d’Azur is the spectacular small city of Sainte-Maxime. This beautiful seaside place seems slightly tucked away and yet offers a multitude of options for a long weekend getaway or to call home.

Here, it is only a short distance to the summer glam of Saint Tropez, yet life feels much calmer and relaxed amongst the locals.

Situated along the Mediterranean Sea, there is a shoreline promenade with parks, the tourist office, and the city beaches, as well as a casino with its own area of white sand.

In addition to the city beaches, there are the Blue Flag-certified supervised ones. On the west side, The Croisette has a sailing school. On the east side of the town are La Nartelle, La Plage des Eléphants and La Garonette (also called Val D'Esquieres), which all provide water-skiing and jet-skiing activities. In addition, there are several smaller beaches that are unsupervised, for a total of 10 km of publicly accessible shoreline.

Sainte-Maxime also has a wonderful old town with shops, markets, restaurants, bars, and cafés, opposite the harbor. On the pier are marine shops, and also fast boat transportation with Les Bateaux Verts to Les Issambres, St Tropez, and Port Grimaud, which enables you to avoid any traffic jams in the summer months.

There are eight golf courses within a 30-minute radius by car. Sainte-Maxime also has a long history as one of the first settlements in the region and played an integral part in WWII.

Make Sainte-Maxime part of your next trip to the French Riviera.