Are there also fireworks on the evening of 15 August?

No. Contrary to what is written more or less everywhere, the big summer display is not the Assumption fireworks: it goes up on the evening of the 14th, and the 15th is given over to the official morning ceremonies. It is the most common mix-up, and plenty of visitors turn up on the 15th expecting fireworks they missed by twenty-four hours.

How long does the display last?

Around twenty-five minutes. It is short, which makes settling in early all the more important: arriving as the first shell goes up means watching it from the third row.

Does the display go ahead in strong wind?

Not necessarily. It can be delayed or cancelled in strong wind or when the fire risk is high, which is a serious matter in the Var in August. The town hall publishes the timings, and any changes, a few weeks and then a few days beforehand.

Are the ceremonies on the morning of the 15th open to the public?

Yes, they are held in public space and draw a small gathering. There is no ticket and no registration, simply an expectation of appropriate dress and behaviour: it is a tribute, not entertainment.

Are the fireworks suitable for young children?

The timing is the real obstacle: a display at 11.30pm means a very late night. If you come as a family, pick a beach rather than the harbour, settle in early with something to pass the time, bring a light layer, and agree the way home before you set off.

Photo: Fadli Mehmed · CC BY 3.0

Feu d'artifice · Le soir du 14 août · Recurring

The Liberation Fireworks

These are not the 15 August fireworks. They go up on the evening of the 14th, and they mark the day fifty thousand soldiers came ashore on the beaches of the gulf. A commemoration, not a calendar party.

15 August 1944, right here

Operation Dragoon still sits, in the collective memory, largely in the shadow of the Normandy landings. It was decisive all the same, and it played out on the beaches we know today for entirely other reasons.

In the early hours of 15 August 1944, fifty thousand Allied soldiers landed along the Var coast, between Cavalaire and Saint-Raphaël, taking in Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime and Fréjus. The gulf was at the centre of it. Saint-Tropez was liberated the same day. In the weeks that followed, the push towards the Rhône valley moved faster than anyone had planned for.

The village has commemorated that anniversary every year since. The Allied Marines memorial, where the tribute is paid on the morning of the 15th, marks the part played by naval units in the operation.

This is the only firework display on the coast whose date is explained not by the holiday calendar but by a military operation. Hence the sobriety of the next morning's ceremonies, which sit oddly against the crowd of the night before. And that is the history to carry with you while watching it: it does not celebrate summer, it celebrates a liberation.

The programme over two days

The format is stable from year to year. Precise times are published by the town hall a few weeks ahead, and those are the ones that count.

14 August, during the day: a parade of vintage military vehicles along the harbour, run by the Special Force Memory association.
14 August, around 9pm: a village dance at the Tour du Portalet.
14 August, around 10pm: the remembrance mass at the Chapelle Sainte-Anne.
14 August, around 11.30pm: the pyromusical display, fired from the môle Jean-Réveille. Free access.
15 August, around 9am: the commemorative ceremony.
15 August, around 9.30am: the tribute at the Allied Marines memorial.

The display is pyromusical, meaning it is choreographed to a soundtrack played at the same time. The sequences follow the music, and the whole thing is built as one piece rather than a run of set bouquets. Fired from the môle at the harbour mouth, it uses the water as a mirror: the reflections double every burst and account for a good half of the effect. That is why viewpoints at water level beat elevated ones, contrary to what you would assume.

The harbour of Saint-Tropez and the Mole Jean-Reveille — Le port de Saint-Tropez de nuit Photo: Remi Jouan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Where to stand

The môle Jean-Réveille and the quai d'honneur. The display leaves from the môle, so the whole harbour gives you a head-on view, with the reflections on black water.

La Bouillabaisse beach or Les Graniers. Further out, fewer people, a side-on view of the bay, and room to sit down. The right compromise if you dread the harbour crowd.

The Citadelle and the Chapelle Sainte-Anne. From above you see the display and the village together. A more distant view, but the finest overall image. Allow twenty minutes for the climb, and think about the walk back down in the dark.

Following the landings around the gulf

The display is short. The history it commemorates can be read on the ground all year, and almost nobody bothers. Start with the môle itself: the ramp the shells leave from looks out over exactly the water the landing craft came in on.

The Allied Marines memorial, where the tribute is paid on the morning of the 15th, is the point most directly tied to the ceremonies.

The beaches of the gulf. Pampelonne, Cavalaire, Sainte-Maxime: they served as footholds for the operation before they served as parasol beaches. Laying a towel on one in August without knowing it is the most ordinary thing in the world.

The Citadelle. Its maritime history museum gives part of its route to the Provence landings. It is the best place to put the day back in context, and it is open all year.

The Chapelle Sainte-Anne, where the remembrance mass is held, can be visited the rest of the year in complete quiet, with one of the finest views over the gulf.

Insider advice

Settle in an hour ahead. The harbour fills fast and the best spots are gone before 10.30pm.
Get an ice cream while you wait. It is the local tradition, and there are worse ways to pass an August evening on the harbour.
Go and see the vehicles during the day. The Special Force Memory parade is the only time you get close to 1944 hardware, and it happens in relative calm, before the harbour fills up.
A light layer. At midnight by the water the air cools, even in August.
Stay for the morning of the 15th. The ceremonies at the memorial last half an hour and give the previous night its full meaning. Very few visitors attend.
On the 15th, escape the crowd early. The rest of that day is a normal 15 August on the peninsula, which is to say busy. Climb to Sainte-Anne or head out on the coastal path before 9am.
Do not count on a table without booking. On the evening of the 14th the whole harbour has been full for weeks.

Getting out after the display

In mid-August the roads around the gulf are at their worst, and 14 August with a display at 11.30pm is the worst slot of the year. The difficulty is not arriving, it is leaving: after the fireworks the way out of the village is blocked for a good hour, sometimes longer.

What works, in order. The shuttle boat: on the Sainte-Maxime line the service runs around the clock in peak season, weather permitting, and you cross without touching a single car. Watching from the far shore: from Sainte-Maxime or Grimaud you see everything, from a distance, and you are home in ten minutes. That is what the locals do. Staying for a drink: an hour of patience on a terrace costs less than an hour of bumpers.

Roads, car parks and shuttle timetables are in our practical guide.

Questions we get asked

Are there also fireworks on the evening of 15 August?: No. Contrary to what is written more or less everywhere, the big summer display is not the Assumption fireworks: it goes up on the evening of the 14th, and the 15th is given over to the official morning ceremonies. It is the most common mix-up, and plenty of visitors turn up on the 15th expecting fireworks they missed by twenty-four hours.
How long does the display last?: Around twenty-five minutes. It is short, which makes settling in early all the more important: arriving as the first shell goes up means watching it from the third row.
Does the display go ahead in strong wind?: Not necessarily. It can be delayed or cancelled in strong wind or when the fire risk is high, which is a serious matter in the Var in August. The town hall publishes the timings, and any changes, a few weeks and then a few days beforehand.
Are the ceremonies on the morning of the 15th open to the public?: Yes, they are held in public space and draw a small gathering. There is no ticket and no registration, simply an expectation of appropriate dress and behaviour: it is a tribute, not entertainment.
Are the fireworks suitable for young children?: The timing is the real obstacle: a display at 11.30pm means a very late night. If you come as a family, pick a beach rather than the harbour, settle in early with something to pass the time, bring a light layer, and agree the way home before you set off.

Source: Ville de Saint-Tropez

#fireworks#august#liberation#free#history

Published on September 2, 2026

See you there. I am the one in the panama hat.

Also in the agenda

Fête traditionnelle· Recurring

La Bravade des Espagnols

15 juin · 08:00, 20:00 · Centre historique et port, Saint-Tropez

15 June, the second Tropezian Bravade. It marks the day in 1637 when 21 Spanish galleys sailed into the gulf and left with nothing.

Fête traditionnelle· Recurring

Les Bravades de Saint-Tropez

16, 17 et 18 mai · 06:00, 23:59 · Centre historique, Saint-Tropez

16, 17 and 18 May, every year since 1558. Three days of costume, drums and musket fire. The one thing here that visitors watch rather than join.

Marché· Recurring

The Place des Lices Provencal Market

Chaque mardi et samedi matin · 08:00, 13:00 · Place des Lices, Saint-Tropez

Twice a week, all year round, the Place des Lices turns back into a real Provencal market. More than a hundred stalls under the plane trees, 8am to 1pm. Come before 10am.