Saint-Tropez Things to Do

She gets about St Tropez by scooter, naturally. Big hair and a size six, all she needs is a pack of cigarettes and a mobile phone: everything else is superflous in the St Tropez lifestyle.

A word about size

You will not see many fat people in St Tropez. The one thing that shouts out loud here is that "thin is good". Its cruel but such is life. If you have acheived thin by the usual means - extreme calorie restriction - all you now need to do is practice lines like "Darling its not my fault I am naturally thin!". Particularly within earshot of other women.

Fellas: only one "size" matters here, the size of your bank balance.

You come here to see and be seen. Your biggest decision is not whether to take a packed lunch, its what you propose to wear.

Beginners need some style advice.

Real Tropezienes set an example

The girls' clothing style is white, and more white. Temperature is hot and white is cool. A hat is sensible but no flower-pots - wide brimmed straw works well. And roomy shoulderbags, not euro-trek rucksacks.

For men, a dog makes a suitable statement - "I live here".

Style notes for visitors
(Apologies to Heat and Hello readers who know all this stuff inside out!)

Youve come here to enjoy the scene, and people watch. Only the day-trippers wander around dressed for the beach. Wear clothes, not "sportswear". No-one is wearing branded sportswear - which some people mistakenly think looks cool. No US baseball vests with the number 18 in huge letters on the front (as in an estimate of the wearer's IQ). That only works if you are P Diddy.

Geltlemen: daywear, if you must wear a baseball cap, it's ok here, but its worn forwards not backwards (dude!). And the shorts - not short shorts - cut half or three-quarter length and flipflops or Birkenstocks, not trainers. Evening: low-cut denin jeans of designer look finished with a big metal belt, mixed with an expensive designer shirt - perhaps white embelished with embroidery and silver, rounded off with a soft-tailored dark jacket.

Ladies: as extrovert as you dare, if you've got it this is the place to flaunt it. If you used to have it but its getting on a bit, age doesn't matter - you need to be more outrageous as you get older - in France you get points for not giving up. A straw stetson hat and cowboy boots teamed up with skinny jeans may be passe (Posh still wears them) but theres some life still in variations. Last of all - those dark glasses - the bigger the better. Its the defininition of cool.

Think: "No Photos No Photos - see my agent!" Now you're beginning to get into the spirit of St Tropez.

No question Saint Tropez is a magnet for young and not so young women with a taste for style. I think it follows from the fact women tend to read celebrity magazines and St Tropez is a backcloth to a certain A-list and B-list celebrity scene, making it one of the must go destinations. Its expensive and hard to get to, providing the necessary exlusivity.

Strangely, not many young men with shaved heads and earings, wanting to watch football on bar big screens, pint in hand, surrounded by like.

Perhaps these two things are related.

Sight seeing in St Tropez is not a big deal - around an hour brisk walk should about do it.

Pretty in every aspect, the view over the town from the citadelle provides fine views. In the distance 5 km north is the venice of the Cote D'Azur - Port Grimaud - and 11 km the modern resort of Saint Maxime.

The Nice - St Tropez Ferry offers you exclusive access to the boot on the other foot.

The lady clearly had the money, Paris Hilton clone , and her hunk trophy male companion a fair bargain. Rippled torso, six-pack stomach, deep tan, dark wavy hair, immaculate rolex, just the right kind of canvas trousers, designer sandals. Everything in its place, game, set and match.

And who said beauty is only skin deep? I only clocked this as the lady pulled down his white sailcloth trouser belt to show the Calvin Klein imprint on the waistband of his underpants beneath. She paid for them and she's going to show them off

On landing at St Tropez, the couple melted invisibly into the beautiful crowd.

People Watching: Factor 9

When walking uphill, you reach a 16th century fortress - La Citadelle, which is now a museum, la musée de la marine, showing the naval history of Saint Tropez. We didn't enter the museum, but from the area around the museum you have some great views on Saint Tropez and the surrounding area.

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Saint Tropez was originally just a sleepy fishing village frequented by painters and writers. However this was changed forever by "And God Created Woman", a 1956 film that put this town aswell as Brigitte Bardot on the map. During the 1960s, Saint-Tropez became a favourite hangout for the international jetset and has had a mundaine reputation ever since.

Too be honest, I expected an overpriced, touristy place, that stuck to this 60s fame and is notorious for its VIP spotting. Well, touristy it is and like any other Mediterranean place somewhat overpriced as well, but despite the big yachts in the old port, which are actually quite a nice sight, the village still has a lot of traditional charm. I haven't seen any VIPs and the yachts and port really resembled the ports of the other places in the area, such as Cannes, Marseille, etc., making this just another one of the nice places on the Cote d'Azur. And one of the most charming at that. The little streets in the village are pretty cute and because of the busloads of tourists, everything is very well maintained.

Apart from the old port, Place des Lices is the central square of Saint Tropez. We were there at midday and it was somewhat deserted, apart from the filled terraces to the side, but I can imagine this to be completely different later in the afternoon. Perhaps I have a too vivid imagination, but I pictured this place with many old men playing petanque here.

It's not too hard to climb the stairs to the citadel. You will be rewarded with a beautiful view of St. Tropez and the surrounding sea.

In the picture you can see the distinctive red-yellow Portalet Tower which was part of the original defensive system completed in the late 15 th century.

The small harbour of Saint-Tropez is a very idyllic place - a lot of small fisher boats in beautiful colours and some big yachts, too.

Furthermore, there are a lot of painters exposing their pictures and painting new ones. Have a coffee in one of the cafés nearby and enjoy the atmosphere...