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DIRECTIONS
TO PORT GRIMAUD
Port Grimaud, the "Venice of France"
is located a few miles from St. Tropez and a few miles from
Ste. Maxime, at the mouth of the Bay of St. Tropez. Ste.
Maxime and St. Tropez are each on one side of the bay opposite
each other. It is approximately 1 1/2 hours west of Nice,
the nearest international airport, on the A8 autoroute,
exit Le Muy. From the Le Muy exit follow the signs for St.
Tropez. Approximately 10 minutes after the famous yellow
bridge on the west side of St. Maxime, going west on the
coast route, you will see the "Grimaud" turnoff
to the right. THAT'S NOT IT! That is for the village of
Grimaud, 4 miles inland from the coast (see below). A few
minutes further west you will see the signs for Port Grimaud,
and the exit for it which is easily identified by an overpass.
Go under the overpass, then right on to it, and over the
coast route to the entrance to Port Grimaud. The entrance
consists of a round, with the choice of exiting left or
right. The commercial center is left, our house, in the
"Sud," is to the right. Recently some signs mentioning
"Port Grimaud" have been added around the St.
Maxime area.
Beginning in the Spring of 1999 Air France initiated boat
service from Nice to various beach cities, so with some
planning it is possible to get to Port Grimaud by boat if
you're not planning to rent a car. Although it is only one
and one-half hours direct by boat, the connections to Port
Grimaud, from St. Raphael or even Saint Tropez may require
a wait.
The Marseille airport is approximately the same distance
from Port Grimaud as Nice, and the Toulon airport is closer.
Air service to these airports, however, is less frequent.
BOAT SERVICE
Beginning in the Spring of 1999 Air France initiated boat service from Nice to various beach cities, so with some planning it is possible to get to Port Grimaud by boat if you're not planning to rent a car.
Although it is only one and one-half hours direct by boat, the connections to Port Grimaud, from St. Raphael or even Saint Tropez may require a wait.
AIR SERVICE
The Marseille airport is approximately the
same distance from Port Grimaud as Nice, and the Toulon airport
is closer. Air service to these airports, however, is less
frequent.
ONCE YOU ARE AT PORT GRIMAUD
The commercial center of Port Grimaud
is on the North side, to the left as you first enter from
the coast road. When you reach the entrance to the commercial
center, there is a large parking lot on the left, where
parking is obligatory. The French system for parking is
that you take a ticket when you enter, go to a paybooth
when you are ready to leave, pay into a machine that validates
the ticket, then insert the validated ticket into the exiting
gate card slot to get out. There is a grace period allowing
free parking for some time.
After parking, walk over the moat, under the archway and
into the first commercial square, the Place des Artisans.
LOCATION OF THE VACATION
HOUSE
Our house is in Port Grimaud Sud, which
is to the right at the entrance round. After the right turn
in a minute you come to a guardhouse with a gate, which
is the entrance to Port Grimaud Sud, a gated community on
the south side of the town, with its own private beach.
Just tell the guard that you are staying at our house, and
he'll direct you. THE ADDRESS IS 24 RUE DES TROIS RIVES.
You receive the key from Mr. Rey, the "guardian,"
who lives in the first house on the street (see below).
Once you have paid our fee, your name is registered with
him.
The house itself is on three levels. On the first level
is the living room, which looks out over the large waterfront
patio, a dinette, and kitchen. The kitchen is small but
well equipped, including dishwasher and washing machine.
There is service for eight, and eight can sit either inside
or at the table on the patio, although more than six inside
gets tight. On the second level is a master bedroom with
a queen size bed, a second bedroom with one twin bed and
one double bed, and a bathroom between. The third level is similar, except that the fourth bedroom has twin beds for kids, and a small office table. The mattresses are first-class and are new in October, 2002
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