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The South of France used to radiate an effortless je ne sais quoi. Today, it’s radiating content creation.
Once synonymous with understated glamour, Brigitte Bardot-era beach clubs and impossibly chic Europeans escaping the spotlight, St. Tropez has become the latest victim of overtourism, influencer culture, and luxury brands chasing viral visibility.
“It’s not so much influencers in general that are the problem; it’s what happens when they start strip mining lovely locations for content and leave them quite bedraggled after having descended on them like locusts,” critiqued Kiki Astor on Instagram.
She, like many others, feels that St. Tropez has become a see-and-be-seen destination, a popular hot topic on travel forums and Reddit threads. Mourners of the “old St. Tropez” take to social media to lament the pitfall of influencer culture on the iconic summer travel spots and reminisce about the understated elegance that existed before Instagram.
But despite the begrudged opinions of the social media influx, traveling to St. Tropez has never been more desirable, or expensive.
A recent survey from France Magazine showed that Saint-Tropez recently topped rankings as France’s most expensive beach destination, with average nightly hotel prices soaring far above other coastal hotspots.
Meanwhile, luxury real estate continues to smash records as wealthy international buyers continue to pour in, further fueling the overcrowded and over-the-top opulence.
Yet many travelers and natives argue that all that money has come at the expense of the town’s soul.
Formerly a quaint, Mediterranean fishing village, St. Tropez transformed into a legendary playground for the international jet-set and Hollywood royalty in the 1950s.
The shift has been years in the making. As Instagram, TikTok and luxury travel exploded in tandem, destinations once prized for exclusivity became valuable not just as vacation spots, but as backdrops.
Yet, despite the undeniable glitz, the town retains much of its historic Provencal charm, defined by pastel-hued houses and narrow cobblestone alleyways, which are now lined with luxury shopping and designer retail.
And aside from just the crowds, brands have arrived in swarms, turning seaside beach clubs into full-scale experiential marketing.
Every summer, Europe’s luxury houses descend on the Riviera with increasingly elaborate beach club “takeovers” and seasonal pop-ups adorned with designer umbrellas, monogrammed loungers, branded paddleboards, and immersive installations from labels including Dior, Gucci, Armani, Jacquemus and Loewe.
And these brand activations are playing out all over Europe, creating a checklist of viral locations for the perfect photo.
“The line of influencers waiting for a coffee at Dior is insane! I prefer La Croix Valmer on the other side of the peninsula,” wrote one user on Kiki’s Instagram post.
Of course, not everyone is complaining.
For the visitors chasing the curated spectacle of perfection, clubs, and all-around decadence, St. Tropez has only gotten better.
Influencer Alix Earle spent a large portion of her summer galavanting on yachts, drinking champagne, and documenting every debaucherous detail on Instagram.
The Côte d’Azur, which has regularly been a vacation spot for A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio, Victoria Beckham, Katy Perry and Kate Moss, doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
This summer alone, hopeful travelers wishing to rub shoulders with Leonardo DiCaprio at a nightclub offered security 500 euros to shoot her shot.
But for most, the idea is akin to you can’t go home again.
“We went back looking for that moment at La Reserve in Cannes and left with whiplash. Sort of like visiting your childhood home and not remembering it to be such a tiny shack,” commented another nostalgic user.
For longtime Riviera devotees, that’s the real loss. St. Tropez hasn’t stopped being beautiful—it has simply become harder to experience in authenticity.
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