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OUR FAVORITES SITES AND RESTAURANTS IN THE AREA
The town of Gassin is a medieval "perched
village" behind St. Tropez. Signs on the road to St.
Tropez are easy to follow. This is an authentic old town
with a wonderful view, and an excellent place for lunch
or a picnic. On the way are several well known vineyards,
and many of the wineries have tasting rooms at which visitors
are always welcome during business hours.
The village of Grimaud is the ancient site of the Grimaldi
family castle. Prince Rainier of Monaco is the current descendant
of the royal family. You can still tour the castle ruins,
then have tea at an English tea house in the main part of
the village which was recently written up in Gourmet magazine.
Also in Grimaud is an artist's studio with paintings and
pottery we admire, and one of the best restaurants in the
South of France, Les Santons.
In St. Tropez there is a naval museum in the fortress at
the top of the hill (check the days and hours--its not open
all the time) and an interesting museum consisting of paintings
by famous impressionists, many with scenes from the local
area, located at the end of the quai. The quai itself (quai
means walkway along boat docks) is one of the famous sights
of the south of France, and as you can see in the museum,
often painted.
Our favorite restaurant in Port Grimaud is La Table du
Mareyeur, which is in the first commercial square, to the
left, almost under a bridge, in the Place des Artisans.
It's run by an English couple, so everyone there speaks
English, and the seafood is exceptional. Like all restaurants
in Port Grimaud, it's not cheap. To eat inexpensively it
is necessary to get away from the coast and go inland, maybe
to the villages of Cogolin (not the port of Cogolin) or
Plan de la Tour, where lots of retired English people live.
And there are lots of garden restaurants, as they are called,
on all of the surrounding roads, which offer good food,
limited menus, and fair prices.
The best restaurant in the area, to our taste, and certainly
one with the best settings anywhere in the world (and one
of the most expensive we've ever eaten at) is the Residence
de la Pinade (one Michelin Star, in a Relais and Chateau
hotel) on the road to San Tropez. Now there is also the
Villa Belrose, a new spectacular hotel and restaurant on
the hillside between Port Grimaud and Saint Tropez. The
view from the dining terrace is spectacular-you can see
both Saint Tropez on one side, Port Grimaud on the other,
and the coastline almost as far as Cannes. Our experience,
put very broadly, is that lunch is a first class restaurant
runs about $50 per person plus wine, and dinner runs about
$100 plus wine. A less lavish meal in a local, very good
restaurant, will be one-fourth to one half of that amount.
Then there is the famous McDonalds on the road to Gassin,
famous because it took the company many many years before
they could get a permit to build near the Southern Coast
of France, where many French people are resisting fast food.
For a change of pace, there is a small Italian restaurant
on one of the canals near the main square of Port Grimaud,
a French restaurant that has a side menu of allegedly Mexican
food, a Thai restaurant in the Place des Artisans, and a
large, new, beautiful Thai take-out deli style restaurant
at the round when you first enter Port Grimaud. The only
hairdresser in Port Grimaud is also there. Next door is
"Monroe's" (owned by the hairdresser's father
for the past 20 years) which you can hear for several blocks
away, where the English gather to have a pint or two from
early in the morning to late at night. And their pizza is
not bad!
Generally we eat in. Each morning we generally walk or
boat to one of the bakeries (there are two nearby-the old
one in the Sud closed recently, but the new one ("new"
means it's been there less than 20 years) is in the "Sud"
commercial center, a few minutes walk or boatride from the
house. A better one is on the highway, across from the entry
circle. There is an Asian restaurant located in Place des
Artisans, for a break from French food, and a wonderful
new Thai take out (or eat in) restaurant on the entry circle.
We shop at the Geant market, a short distance away on the
road to St. Tropez. This a complete market, with everything
from a hardware store, garden shop, clothing, electronics,
regular food and an amazing array of gourmet products and
prepared foods that rival some of the best restaurants.
There used to be a currency exchange place in that center, but it is now closed and you can find one only in San Tropez.
An hour or two north is the Gorge du Verdun, the "Grand
Canyon" of France, with beautiful villages famous for
special pottery. One of the most famous chefs in France
recently opened a small overnight inn with restaurant at
the lake where the gorge ends, which we hope to stay in
one day.
For night life and music, St. Tropez is the place, with
the most famous and accessible hangout being Papagallo on
the quai.
In the dresser in the entry of the house there are guide
books and maps which show all this and more.
Bonne Vacances!!
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