A hillside cemetery above the Golfe de Saint-Tropez

This is one of the few marine cemeteries in France, laid out face to the sea below the Citadelle. The tourist office describes a site planted with hortensias, tamaris and canisses, where you can wander between the tombs with an uninterrupted view over the gulf and the baie des Canebiers. It is a working cemetery rather than a museum, so the atmosphere shifts between quiet reverence and the steady trickle of visitors looking for a famous name.

Visitors come for two different reasons, and it helps to know which camp you are in. Some arrive for the outlook and the Mediterranean planting, treating the cemetery as a peaceful viewpoint on the climb to the Citadelle. Others come specifically for the graves, and that requires a bit of searching: the famous tombs are scattered through the later extensions rather than grouped together.

Where the cemetery is

The address is Chemin des Graniers, 83990 Saint-Tropez, the lane that climbs from the town towards the Citadelle. The tourist office lists a telephone number, +33 (0)4 94 55 90 00, for queries, though the site itself has no reception or ticket desk. Note that search results also throw up a separate town cemetery at 8 Place du Souvenir Français, so make sure you are heading for the Chemin des Graniers entrance.

Opening hours and entry

The cemetery is open every day of the year, with hours that lengthen in summer. From September to April it opens at 8.00 and closes at 17.30; from May to August it stays open until 19.30. Last admission is 15 minutes before closing, and entry is free. Because these are seasonal public hours rather than a ticketed attraction, a quick check before a winter visit is sensible, as hours can be adjusted.

Getting there and how long to allow

The walk up from the port is short but steady, following the lanes towards the Citadelle before turning onto the Chemin des Graniers. Allow ten to fifteen minutes from the old harbour at an easy pace, more in the heat of a July afternoon. There is no dedicated car park at the gate, and the streets around the Citadelle are narrow, so most visitors arrive on foot.

For a straightforward look at the view and a stroll through the old section, thirty to forty-five minutes is realistic. Add another twenty minutes if you want to track down the celebrity graves in the newer extensions, which are less picturesque and take more searching. The site is on a slope with steps and uneven gravel paths, so wear shoes you can walk in and skip it if mobility is limited.

The view and the planting

The outlook is the reason many people rate this spot above the town's museums. From the terraces you look straight down over the Golfe de Saint-Tropez on one side and across the baie des Canebiers on the other, with the white tombs stepping down the hillside. The hortensias, tamaris and reed canisses soften what could otherwise feel like a bare, rocky slope.

The old section and the captains' graves

Saint-Tropez's cemetery is really two cemeteries in one. The older part near the entrance is the most attractive, with the white tombs of the captains au long cours set against the blue of the Mediterranean; the celebrity graves sit mostly in the later extensions behind, where the monuments are heavier and less graceful. Start at the entrance and work uphill rather than the other way round, or you will see the plainest part of the site first.

Graves to look for: Bardot, Vadim, Bachelet, Barclay

Brigitte Bardot, who lived at La Madrague outside town, was buried here in 2025. Roger Vadim, the director and her former husband, lies in the same cemetery, as do the singer Pierre Bachelet and the record producer Eddy Barclay. These are the names most visitors come for, and they sit among the larger family vaults in the newer extensions rather than in the old sailors' section.

Artists and writers

The painters are well represented: Henri Manguin, a friend of Matisse and one of the fauve painters, and André Dunoyer de Segonzac, central to the artists' colony that formed in Saint-Tropez. Blandine Liszt, daughter of Franz Liszt and wife of Émile Ollivier, rests in the Ollivier family tomb. The composer Louis Durey, a member of Les Six, is also buried here, along with the Tropézien painter Émile Gaud, whose grave reproduces his profile against the village.

Other names worth knowing

Beyond the headline graves, the cemetery holds a long list of quieter stories. Bannou Pan Deï, an Indian princess who was the wife of General Allard and lived in Saint-Tropez until 1884, has her tomb here, while her husband was buried in Lahore. Also present are the hairdresser Alexandre de Paris, the actor Philippe Rouleau, the poet and playwright Charles Vildrac, and Justin Tuveri, a First World War veteran who died at 109.

How the cemetery came to this site

In 1776 a royal ordinance banned burials inside churches and required cemeteries to move outside the built-up area. Saint-Tropez first shifted its dead to the Pré des Pêcheurs, but the shallow, rocky ground caused problems and locals complained, so a site called Roqueplane below the Citadelle was chosen and laid out from 1791. The grounds were extended repeatedly through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which explains why the celebrity tombs sit so far from the entrance.

Etiquette and the walk back down

This is an active cemetery, so keep to the paths, keep voices low and give way to mourners and funeral parties. Photography is generally acceptable at the viewpoint and at historic graves, but use judgement and never photograph people attending a burial. The return walk down to the harbour takes about ten minutes, and it is worth timing your visit so you finish at the Citadelle rather than walking back up.

What is nearby

The cemetery sits directly below the Citadelle de Saint-Tropez, which holds the Musée d'histoire maritime and adds a few minutes of climbing and a separate entrance fee. Down at sea level, the Vieux Port is the natural place to end the walk, with the Musée de l'Annonciade and itspost-Impressionist collection a short stroll along the quay. La Ponche, the old fishing quarter behind the port, is the pleasantest way back into the town centre. For more ideas around the harbour and old town, see our guide to things to do in Saint-Tropez.

If you are building a day around the harbour and the hillside, our guide to Saint-Tropez Attractions sets the cemetery alongside the port, the Citadelle and the old town. Place des Lices, the plane-shaded square where the town plays pétanque, is a fifteen-minute walk from the cemetery gate and a good stop on the way back.

Who this visit suits

Come here if you want a free, quiet half-hour with one of the best views in Saint-Tropez and an interest in the town's artists and film history. Skip it if you are travelling with young children, have trouble on slopes and steps, or are short of time and would rather spend it at the Musée de l'Annonciade. Early morning and late afternoon give the softest light and the fewest people.

Plan Your Visit

Treat the Cimetière marin as a short, free stop on the climb to the Citadelle rather than a destination in its own right. Go in the morning or late afternoon, start at the old section near the gate, then work uphill for the celebrity graves before walking back down through La Ponche. Check the seasonal closing time before a winter visit, since the gates shut noticeably earlier from September to April.