Pampelonne Beach

4.5km of sand between Cap Camarat and Cap Taillat, world-famous for the jet-set beach clubs — but the southern end, Bonne Terrasse and l'Escalet, remains genuinely wild coastline just a stone's throw from the eye-wateringly priced sun loungers.

The name Pampelonne instantly conjures the legendary clubs on the northern end (Tahiti, Moulins) where Bardot launched the Saint-Tropez legend in the 1960s. But the beach has seven sections, and the southernmost, Bonne Terrasse, stays quieter and less glamorous — the same turquoise water, without the cover charge. A family vineyard, the Château de Pampelonne, even borders the sand on the inland side, and the coastal path extends the beach toward the wild coves of l'Escalet.