Saint Tropez is one of those villages that appears to vanish under the intense glitter of summer, but which instantly comes alive again at the end of the season when nature and the steady pace of daily life reassert themselves.
“Far from the madness of its frantic « celebrity » summers invaded with hoards of tourist, star-studded parties and billionaires’ yachts, there exists another Saint Tropez, a less well-known Saint Tropez that is instantly recognizable to those who have the good fortune to live there.
Because, make no mistake, Saint Tropez is truly a village, with its bell tower softly chiming the hours, its old people warming themselves in the sun on the ” Liars Bench ” and children playing noisily in the school yard, not to mention the colourful market that literally overflows with flowers and vegetables, where the famous village peacocks can be seen roaming freely in all their glory!
It is a marvelous place, where each bend in the road reserves a pleasant surprise, where the pretty, brightly-painted houses around the port are at last visible again after the summer visitors have departed and the beaches revert to their wild state and are once more populated by seaweed and drift-wood.
It is a village where the inhabitants have remained genuine and maintain a deep respect for their roots and traditions, and where kindness and a smile are the general rule. Indeed, it is thanks to its inhabitants that the village of Saint Tropez has managed to preserve its irresistible charm and enduring mystery.
This is the Saint Tropez that I have had the good fortune to get to know and have come to love and that I would like to share with you now”
Xavier Roy
Publisher: Images en Manoeuvres. (May2009)
Forwords: Dany Lartigue