March may be the cruelest month in Saint-Tropez. Though the world imagines this Riviera village as a non-stop hedonistic playground for the wealthy, the enduring myth of Bardot-era glamour has little to do with the daily life of its roughly 4,000 permanent residents.
Having lived on the Côte d’Azur for decades, I’ve learned to appreciate Saint-Tropez’s off-season moods. Today the sun is pale, the sky milky, and there’s a lingering winter chill in the air. Streets lie nearly empty, boutiques remain shuttered. A brisk wind whips across the yacht-less harbour.
On the Place des Lices, not a single pétanque player is in sight. A pewter-haired gentleman pedals past on a rickety bicycle. A few designer boutiques have their lights on; outside one, a bored shopkeeper slips out for a cigarette while waiting for customers.
It’s the quieter side of Saint-Tropez that visitors rarely see—the calm before the cameras arrive. Come April, one of television’s most talked-about series—HBO’s The White Lotus—will begin filming its fourth season here, adding a new twist to the Riviera’s long tradition of mischief and decadent pleasures.
Regional tourism officials say reservations for the coming spring are already strong along the Côte d’Azur—though with the production still shrouded in secrecy, it’s impossible to know whether the shoot has anything to do with it. “People aren’t saying oh là là this is amazing—at least not yet,” says one staffer tells me.
If the ripple from the show’s previous success is any guide, Saint-Tropez may soon see a tidal wave of set-jetters.
“When the second season of The White Lotus aired—filmed at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily—the reaction was immediate, ” says Pierre-Alexandre Francin, a private travel designer with First in Service and a former Saint-Tropez resident. “The hotel was overwhelmed with booking requests—something like 3,000 in the week after the first episode aired.”
“The third season also boosted Thailand far beyond the property,” he adds. “People wanted to experience the destination for themselves.”
For now, behind the scenes, preparations are quietly underway. Local contacts say production teams have begun searching for accommodation for cast and crew, while luxury cars and other logistics are being lined up in and around Saint-Tropez.
At Nice’s Victorine Studios, a casting call for extras for an unspecified “American series,” published in Nice-Matin, drew a day-long queue of Gen-Z hopefuls—many seemingly unaware of what they were auditioning for.
