Orange you loving all this orange? And what is prettier with vibrant orange than a cool blue? Especially clear blue skies and crystal blue seas. We thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this lovely color combination when we visited the freshened up Tahiti Beach Club in St. Tropez for lunch one day. This is the original beach club on the white sand Pampelonne strip, which is now populated with about 25 different beach clubs, each with it’s own personality. These “clubs” do not require membership, you can visit them for a meal, a drink or to rent a matelas and chair and just lounge the day away enjoying the sand, the sea and maybe even an orange umbrella or 2.
This stunning area, which is actually in Ramautuelle, France was made famous by Brigitte Bardot. She first put the tiny fishing village of nearby St. Tropez on the map and established herself as an international sex kitten when she starred in And God Created Woman in 1956, a film directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim.
Throughout the 50’s and 60’s she continued to beckon all who love this glamorous yet rustic French life style {and who doesn’t?} to these shores to indulge in all of the decadent pleasures they had to offer. Here she is celebrating her honeymoon with 3rd husband, Gunter Sachs at Tahiti Beach in the 60’s.
I first wrote about this club a couple of years ago, looking back on those shots I must say I really love the fresh new look. They are still using the signature orange, but it’s sharpened up by using whites and pale grays instead of the yellowish tan contrast color of yesteryear. The sturdy teak tables are still a fixture, but now they are flanked with these fresh looking banquettes.
The provençal fare even seemed much better than I recalled.
We started the meal with the traditional help~yourself crudités served in a natural cork bowl with flavorful anchovy dip and hard boiled eggs.
The place was absolutely packed and everyone was in the mood to celebrate.
After lunch some visited the on~sight salon for blow~outs, some perused the boutique filled with glamorous frocks and accessories, while others hit the sand running
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and relaxed the afternoon away on the beach.
One can access these clubs by land or by sea. Most of the clubs offer boat service, they will pick you up on your vessel to bring you in for a meal or for the day.
This is handy since gorgeous Gunter is no longer available.
Behind the white sand beach and the restaurants, which are, for the most part, deconstructed in the winter, there is plenty of parking. There are small roads off the main beach strip that lead to these clubs, they snake through stretches of grassy dunes, forests of pine and cork trees and vineyards that keep this area feeling natural and primitive.
Brigitte is still there, leading a much more reclusive life as an animal rights activist, click on La Madrague, to see more of this provocative icon and the home and beach that she loves.
At the end of the day, after the umbrellas and matelas are away for the night
it’s always a hard to to leave this amazing setting.
If you just can’t bear to leave you could always check to see if there is a room at the small Tahiti Beach hotel.
Then you can wake up in the morning for a stroll through the gardens and yet another glamorous day on the plage.
it's years since I have been to St Tropez, in the 90's I spent many happy days visiting every time we stayed in the south of France each summer. Many great memories which all came flooding back with your photos. Now I am just as happy on the Atlantic coast of France where we live!
I love learning about your side of the country from your blog! It is a special place, we used to go regularly too, it was great to get back there.
This spot looks like pure heaven…highlighted so skillfully by your nostalgic references….Let's see…do I have time to catch a plane?!!
Cindy, definitely. Start at Tahiti and continue on. September is the best time to go, you can get all of the reservations you'd like and it's not quite so crowded. ~ebh