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Posted on Monday, 16 July 2007 |
 St. Tropez survival guide
With the celebrity holiday season in full swing, here is a short survival guide to St Tropez in the summertime.
It's hard to say why one small traditional fishing village on the edge of the Côte d'Azur is the place to be during the summer months of June through to September, but St Tropez is the global magnet for celebrities, film stars, the rich and the beautiful.
Everyone from Beyonce to the Beckhams flocks to St. Tropez in the summer for hot parties and chilled champagne.
But before you pack up your beach bag and jump on a jet, here's a guide to help you get by.
A stay in St. Tropez is not cheap, renting an apartment or a villa between friends is a great way to sidestep the lack of hotel rooms and their high cost leaving lots of cash for partying and having fun.
An ideal in St. Tropez is usually spent lounging at a beach club on Pampelonne beach, which overlooks the beautiful warm blue waters of the Mediterranean.
And there's no better way to kick off party mood than on a plush chaise at Nikki Beach (Route de Epi Ramatuelle), where waiters in white keep the alcohol flowing, and the drink of choice is champagne. But hitting the beach amongst the jet set is, well, no day at the beach. Nikki Beach and the other desirable beach clubs can often require reservations that must be made weeks in advance. If you don't have reservations during July and August, make sure you get in early in the day.
But a reservation doesn't guarantee admission. If you don't look glamorous and sexy with cool beachwear, you won't be getting in. You must look the part, look like you belong and brave it out. "It's not formal, you just have to be sexy and wear it well", according to a manager at Nikki beach.
And if you do get in, bring your credit cards - all of them. A basic bottle of bubbly starts at EUR250 and Cristal a cool EUR500.
In St. Tropez, there are parties day and night, and the first phase begins in the beach clubs sometime after 4 pm. Beginning around now, champagne spraying becomes the fun thing to do, you don't personally have to get involved, feel free to join the parties of those who are splashing out on their special day. Let's face it we all need to have one once.
And nowhere is the beach-party scene more legendary than at la Voile Rouge on Moorea Beach, a beachfront club where securing a table for lunch in July is exceptionally difficult and celebrity summer residents block book for every day for up to a month with parties of 10 of more. Never mind, you can still chill out at the bar and have a more commanding view of the proceedings.
La Voile Rouge has what can only be described as a catwalk running down it's centre where British and American popstars and European supermodels are seen providing impromptu sexy performances for the guests.
Lunch at Cinquante Cinq (Cub 55) and sample the superb seafood with a bottle of chilled rosé. Club 55 is the favoured lunch hang-out for Jay Z and Beyonce, Rod Stewart, Kate Moss and the Beckhams.
After lunch, a nap is in order to refuel for a very long night of partying. St Tropez's nightlife doesn't even get going until 11:00pm.
In the evenings it's all about the private parties. But if you're not on a list, all is not lost. Head to the hotel bar at Byblos, order another glass of champagne and mingle. Every night in St Tropez sees a selection of parties being thrown by household name celebrities and film stars, when you are out and about you must mingle and chat to people to find out what the word is on tonights party, and score yourself an invite. If you are utterly desperate, talk the crew on watch on the Superyachts in the harbour who will always know what the buzz is tonight.
Your best bet at securing admission to the city's most popular nightclub - Les Caves du Roy (Avenue Paul Signac) - located underneath the hotel Byblos, is to look like you belong.
"If you have an expensive watch on your arm or the right pair of heels, then you can talk your way in," according to Miriam Caro, entertainments manager at RRG.
Don't try to bribe the bouncer, "it doesn't work that way," according to Caro. "It's more about your look and how you fit in with the other guests."
Top nightime party venue is the VIP Room in the port, where Eva Longoria and Tony Parker recently kicked off the season with a "Love is the air" party they hosted just days before their Paris wedding. Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, the Beckhams, Gwen Stefani, Pamela Anderson and Sean Combs have all partied here as well.
But if you're looking for something more mellow, consider L'Octave (place de la Garonne). The piano bar is a good choice for those who prefer jazz to house.
As dawn breaks it is time to catch a few winks, either in your comfortable rented villa or on a sun lounger by the pool and plan how you are going to do it all again today. |
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