Water slaps gently against hulls. Early morning, when the terraces along quai Jean Jaurès are still empty, the port shows itself unfiltered. Ochre facades and olive-green shutters of the old basin, low light catching the crests, coffee smell mingling with salt.
With 734 berths spread across two basins covering 9 hectares of water, the port concentrates the Tropezian paradox: traditional pointus moored a few metres from yachts valued at tens of millions. This contrast tells five centuries of history. Founded in the late 15th century by Genoese sailors, the port became in the 18th century the third-largest French port in the Mediterranean, exporting wine, cork and timber. The quai de l'Épi housed the launching ramps of the shipyards, after Marseille, Saint-Tropez was the second-largest three-masted ship builder.
Today, between the super-yachts lined up at the môle d'Estienne d'Orves and the pointus at la Ponche, the port keeps its double life. That of yachtsmen who come for les Voiles, and that of fishermen from Place aux Herbes. It was this same light that drove Paul Signac to moor his yacht l'Olympia here in 1892, transforming a Var fishing village into a cradle of modern art. The promenade runs along quai Suffren to the Portalet tower, where the coastal path begins. Off season, this is where Saint-Tropez finds its soul again.
