Located in the dungeon of the Citadel of Saint-Tropez, it offers one of the most beautiful views of the coast.
NEW ROOM DEDICATED TO VIRTUALITY – The Maritime History Museum of the Citadel in St Tropez welcomes a new room dedicated to virtuality, imagined in 1995 by Philippe Starck.
“I reduced and reduced again, until I created a magical purity, a sort of silver rocket where the dream appears. I wanted Virtuelle to feel like an old wooden yacht, but when you get closer, you realize that it is actually carbon fiber marquetry, red, brown, tobacco, looking exactly like wood.”
Philippe Starck
The sailboat adopted a minimalist and elegant form and left the Tencara shipyards in Venice in 1999, the year it was launched.
Today, the whole world comes to Saint-Tropez. The museum tells the story of the time when the people of Saint-Tropez travelled the world. From the city's renaissance at the end of the 15th century, Saint-Tropez turned towards the sea. Fishing and coastal shipping along the Provençal and Ligurian coasts kept most of the city's sailors busy. But from the end of the 16th century, more enterprising sailors sailed and traded in the eastern Mediterranean basin before, in the following century, the coastline of the Ottoman Empire became familiar to hundreds of people from Saint-Tropez.
At the end of the 18th century, there were people from Saint-Tropez on the coasts of black Africa. The small city benefited from the development of Marseille trade. But it was in the 19th century that sailors sailed all the seas of the world, on warships but especially on merchant ships. The first half of the 20th century marked the peak of these voyages with captains commanding large sailing ships on the Cape Horn route, or large ocean liners on the most prestigious transatlantic or Far Eastern lines.
It is the incredible epic of the inhabitants of this small town, which was not just a charming fishing port, that the museum offers to help you discover or rediscover. The ground floor has 11 rooms dedicated to local activities such as fishing, coastal shipping, but also shipyards, the torpedo factory, the submarine cable factory, not forgetting the hydrography school. The upper floor is devoted to distant voyages. Visitors can first discover the three great figures of the city: General Allard, the Bailiff of Suffren and Hippolyte Bouchard, heroes of the independence of several South American states. This is followed, through the next five rooms, by an evocation of navigation in all the seas of the world. An ambitious scenography that respects the building and the collections means that the visitor does not feel like they are visiting a museum but rather traveling in the company of the sailors of Saint-Tropez. The museum is one of the most visited sites in the Provence – Alpes – Côte d'Azur region and, without a doubt, one of the most surprising and moving.
© Text by Laurent Pavlidis
The Citadel of Saint-Tropez
Dating from the 1993th century, purchased by the commune in XNUMX, this listed monument is one of the most visited historical and cultural sites in the Var.
This monument is composed of a hexagonal keep, an entrance with adjoining curtain wall and bastions. The keep, built between 1602 and 1608, based on plans by the military engineer Raymond de Bonnefons, was supplemented a few years later by a large bastioned enclosure and a system of moats and counterscarps. The most important defensive element between Antibes and Toulon, the Citadel is one of the only monuments of this size on the Provençal coast. At the foot of the ramparts, there is a superb panorama of the bay of Saint-Tropez.
At the heart of the keep is the modern and living museum of maritime history. It allows visitors to discover the daily lives of men and women who shaped today's Saint-Tropez over the centuries, and to meet famous Saint-Tropez sailors, such as Bailli de Suffren, General Allard and Hippolyte Bouchard, who distinguished themselves on the world's seas.
For its successful commitment to a quality approach that meets the essential requirements for the satisfaction of our visitors and for the quality of its services and its welcome, the State has awarded the Citadel of Saint-Tropez – Maritime History Museum the Qualité Tourisme™ brand.
“I reduced and reduced again, until I created a magical purity, a sort of silver rocket where the dream appears. I wanted Virtuelle to feel like an old wooden yacht, but when you get closer, you realize that it is actually carbon fiber marquetry, red, brown, tobacco, looking exactly like wood.”
Philippe Starck
The sailboat adopted a minimalist and elegant form and left the Tencara shipyards in Venice in 1999, the year it was launched.
Today, the whole world comes to Saint-Tropez. The museum tells the story of the time when the people of Saint-Tropez travelled the world. From the city's renaissance at the end of the 15th century, Saint-Tropez turned towards the sea. Fishing and coastal shipping along the Provençal and Ligurian coasts kept most of the city's sailors busy. But from the end of the 16th century, more enterprising sailors sailed and traded in the eastern Mediterranean basin before, in the following century, the coastline of the Ottoman Empire became familiar to hundreds of people from Saint-Tropez.
At the end of the 18th century, there were people from Saint-Tropez on the coasts of black Africa. The small city benefited from the development of Marseille trade. But it was in the 19th century that sailors sailed all the seas of the world, on warships but especially on merchant ships. The first half of the 20th century marked the peak of these voyages with captains commanding large sailing ships on the Cape Horn route, or large ocean liners on the most prestigious transatlantic or Far Eastern lines.
It is the incredible epic of the inhabitants of this small town, which was not just a charming fishing port, that the museum offers to help you discover or rediscover. The ground floor has 11 rooms dedicated to local activities such as fishing, coastal shipping, but also shipyards, the torpedo factory, the submarine cable factory, not forgetting the hydrography school. The upper floor is devoted to distant voyages. Visitors can first discover the three great figures of the city: General Allard, the Bailiff of Suffren and Hippolyte Bouchard, heroes of the independence of several South American states. This is followed, through the next five rooms, by an evocation of navigation in all the seas of the world. An ambitious scenography that respects the building and the collections means that the visitor does not feel like they are visiting a museum but rather traveling in the company of the sailors of Saint-Tropez. The museum is one of the most visited sites in the Provence – Alpes – Côte d'Azur region and, without a doubt, one of the most surprising and moving.
© Text by Laurent Pavlidis
The Citadel of Saint-Tropez
Dating from the 1993th century, purchased by the commune in XNUMX, this listed monument is one of the most visited historical and cultural sites in the Var.
This monument is composed of a hexagonal keep, an entrance with adjoining curtain wall and bastions. The keep, built between 1602 and 1608, based on plans by the military engineer Raymond de Bonnefons, was supplemented a few years later by a large bastioned enclosure and a system of moats and counterscarps. The most important defensive element between Antibes and Toulon, the Citadel is one of the only monuments of this size on the Provençal coast. At the foot of the ramparts, there is a superb panorama of the bay of Saint-Tropez.
At the heart of the keep is the modern and living museum of maritime history. It allows visitors to discover the daily lives of men and women who shaped today's Saint-Tropez over the centuries, and to meet famous Saint-Tropez sailors, such as Bailli de Suffren, General Allard and Hippolyte Bouchard, who distinguished themselves on the world's seas.
For its successful commitment to a quality approach that meets the essential requirements for the satisfaction of our visitors and for the quality of its services and its welcome, the State has awarded the Citadel of Saint-Tropez – Maritime History Museum the Qualité Tourisme™ brand.
Further information) :
Disabled parking
Themes:
Visit
Individual visit services
- Unguided individual tours permanently
- Guided individual tours on request
Group visit services
- Unguided group tours permanently
- Guided group tours on request
Opening
Exceptional Closure(s)
- 01/01/2025
- 01/05/2025
- 11/11/2025
- 25/12/2025
Admission fees
Free for ICOM card holders (on presentation of proof)
Guided tours are offered every day upon reservation. They are included in the entrance fee and are conducted in French. Tours in English are possible upon request.
Guided tours are offered every day upon reservation. They are included in the entrance fee and are conducted in French. Tours in English are possible upon request.
Kids
(under 12)
Kids
(under 12)
Payment methods
Services
Equipments
Services