Property St Tropez

As an American, I am a frequent traveler to Europe, and last summer my father sent me on a property search for a luxury villa in St Tropez. Saint Tropez is nestled between Marseille and Monaco on the Cote D’Azur sitting in the Golphe de Saint Tropez opposite a quaint market town of Sainte Maxime. I did wonder why Father should be so interested in buying property in St Tropez, so far away from home, on the shores of the Mediterranean. In his senior years he was looking for a milder climate and his fondness for the French lifestyle, cuisine and Provencal architecture was pushing him to properties in the Bay of Saint Tropez or in one of the surrounding Var villages. Saint Tropez’s reputation precedes itself; the home of Bridgette Bardot, riva yachts, Club 55, and Byblos hotel famous night club Les Caves Du Roi.

So, on my next trip to Europe I made it a point to visit the South of France. I rented a car and drove into Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region down the A8 autoroute. I took the turnoff by Le Muy and headed past the roadworks on the D25 towards Sainte Maxime then hit the D98a past la Foux, past Le Marines de Cogolin, past Gassin, Grimaud, and into the port of Saint Tropez home of the famous Les Voiles de Saint Tropez. It was a mild evening as I passed the megayachts parked up on the port in front of the tourists and people watchers sitting at tables of Nikki Beach’s latest bar Le Cafe de Paris, and restaurant barons Joseph’s Le Quai. The moon was high and the azur water glistened around the 50m sail boats and their intimidating masts. I understood why I was here and why my Father has sent me to look for property in St Tropez.

I parked in Les Places des Lices, and headed past Le Musee des Papillons on Rue Etienne Berny up into the citadel, and found myself lodging at the beautiful hotel Yaca. After a good sleep and a hearty breakfast I called a couple of realtors in Saint Tropez and asked them to show me around some of the properties in les Parcs de Saint Tropez, La Bouillabaisse, Saint Anne, and Les Salins. My father asked me to look at property between 7 and 10 million Euros and choose between the contemporary and Provencal property for sale in the Saint Tropez Bay area. There was a beautiful contemporary property for sale in Saint Anne which was close to Pampelonne Beach and Tahiti as well as being walking distance from Les Places des Lices and the Saturday market. This prime piece of real estate has a large terrace overlooking the Chapelle de la Miséricorde and the seaview of Beauvallon. The wooden beams and high ceilings made me think of our country house back home and knew this house should be added to the property search favorites’ list for St Tropez.
Property in les Parcs de Saint Tropez was pretty unrealistic; prices were very high and bordering the Bay of Canoubiers all the properties were on a private domain. Security was most important and I suppose the Jetset had that high on their priority list. Views over to La Bonne Terrace and the St Tropez beach clubs of Pampelonne beach were stunning. Having a house up on the hill next to the Chateaux La Messardiere next door to Fayed was probably not for my Father.

An immobilier in Saint Tropez who did impress me was Thierry Bourgeot CEO at Jetset Agency. Him and his team were very helpful pulling out properties that fit my specifications. He even took me for lunch at Club 55 on Pampelonne beach. We arrived in Thierry’s 4x4 and a voiturier took the car. We were ushered into a buzzing restaurant full of beautiful people all dressed in Dior, Armani and Channel clothing and Gucci sunglasses. We ate fresh seafood and a plump Dorade (Sea Bream) for lunch and in the meantime Thierry’s secretary showed us property slides on her computer.

I learnt that the property values in Saint Tropez were constant and my Father’s investment was safe if he spent over 5 million Euros. I also learnt that contemporary properties were scarce and their price was much higher than the classic Saint Tropez Provencal property. Land was expensive as was private domains with pools. I was shown a penthouse apartment for good value in Saint Tropez with its own infinity pool but there were only 3 bedrooms and not enough space for all our family members.
So after I had checked out the Saint Tropez nightlife having some cocktails at le Bar du Port,
After another good sleep at Le Yaca I set off back to the states to chat to my Father about possibilities. The real estate agents in Saint Tropez were very helpful in sending PDF’s of properties, virtual tours and property information after my Saint Tropez trip. We have found a beautiful Tropezienne villa in Sainte Anne not far from the Chapelle where Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones and ex-fiancée Bianca Perez Morena de Macias got married in 1971. We are heading over to Saint Tropez next week to meet with Thierry and the Jetset Saint Tropez Immobilier who found our property and to sign with the vendor at the Notaire office of Saint Tropez.