Photo: Mike K. via Google
Club 55
Seventy years of lunch on Pampelonne, where the sunbed is the cheapest thing on the bill.
The verdict
- Book ifYou want the one Pampelonne institution where the money buys food and history rather than noise, and a reported 38 euro sunbed strikes you as reasonable rent for the most famous sand in France
- Skip ifYou are chasing DJs and champagne showers, this is a long lunch in espadrilles, or if roughly 100 euros a head for that lunch is money you would rather spend on two days elsewhere
- One thing to knowThe kitchen grows much of its own produce on the family farms behind the coast, which is half the reason a plate of vegetables here became famous enough to be gossiped about
Costs and claims verified against 2026 tariff guides and recent guest accounts under our editorial standards by Morten Andersen
Published 24 January 2026. Last reviewed 6 April 2026
The story is real, not marketing. In 1955 the de Colmont family had a driftwood beach hut on an empty Pampelonne when Roger Vadim arrived to film And God Created Woman, mistook the hut for a restaurant, and asked the family to feed his crew. The film made Brigitte Bardot and Saint Tropez famous, and the canteen that fed the cameras never closed. Patrice de Colmont, the son who ran it for decades and fought to keep Pampelonne wild, died in October 2025 at 77, and his daughter Camille now carries the house forward.
For the French Riviera club directory we hold every legend to the same boring test: price against experience, with the free alternative on the table. Club 55 is the rare icon that gets more interesting under that lens, because the entry costs are modest by Pampelonne standards and the expensive part is a lunch people plan holidays around.
Club 55 at a glance
The club publishes little, so these figures are reported by tariff guides and recent guests. Where nothing reliable exists we say so.
| What | The detail |
|---|---|
| Sunbeds | Reported around 38 euros per day for 2026, some are mattresses straight on the sand rather than raised loungers |
| Parasol | Reported around 18 euros per day, confirm the current figure when booking |
| Minimum spend | None published, you pay for what you take, though lunch is the reason most people come |
| Lunch budget | Roughly 100 euros a head for three courses with house wine by recent visitor accounts, house bottles reported from about 33 euros |
| Entry | No door fee, you reserve a table or beds and simply arrive |
| Reservations | Phone only on +33 4 94 55 55 55, from a week to two months ahead for peak summer dates |
| Dress code | To be confirmed, in practice linen and espadrilles outdress anything flashy here |
| Season and hours | Lunch service through the summer season, exact dates and hours to be confirmed |
| The beach | Pampelonne, almost five kilometres of public sand below Ramatuelle, with free stretches between the clubs |
Paying for the absence of a party
Understand what Club 55 does not sell and the pricing starts to make sense. There is no DJ, no dancing on tables, no magnum parade with sparklers. The neighbouring clubs charge 60 euros and up for a lounger and stage a show around it, while 55 reportedly charges 38 and serves quiet. On pure sunbed arithmetic the old house is one of the better deals on the beach, which surprises people who only know its reputation.
The lunch is where the value question actually lives. Grilled fish by the catch, a slice of lamb leg, the basket of raw vegetables from the family farms, the Tropezienne tart: none of it is complicated, and at roughly 100 euros a head with wine you are paying a premium for provenance and seventy years of the same tables. Some guests find that honest, since the produce comes off the family land and the fish list changes with the boats. Others read the famous crudite basket, reported at prices that would buy a supermarket run for a month, as the Riviera charging you to feel like an insider. Both readings are true, which is why you should decide before you book which guest you are.
The consistent complaints are not about the food. In August the tables turn tightly, the beds sell out despite the price of the neighbourhood, and a walk in without a reservation is close to hopeless. The house philosophy says the customer is a friend rather than a king, and the corollary is that friends do not always get palace service at the rush. Come in June or September, book ahead, and the whole equation softens along with the crowd.
Pampelonne, beyond the tables
Photo: tasten steff via GooglePampelonne is a public beach nearly five kilometres long, backed by dunes and vineyards rather than buildings, and the concessions occupy only sections of it. That geography is the budget traveller’s friend: the same fine pale sand and clear water that fronts the famous clubs runs free between them, and Patrice de Colmont himself spent years campaigning to keep the bay low built and undeveloped. Our full Pampelonne guide covers the free stretches, parking and the quieter ends of the bay.
The practical part
The club sits at 43 Boulevard Patch in Ramatuelle, on the beach road about ten minutes by car from Saint Tropez town, longer in the August queue that clogs the peninsula from late morning. Arrive before noon or after the lunch rush if you are driving, and treat the summer traffic as part of the cost of the day. There is no dock, though a fair share of guests arrive by tender from yachts standing off the bay.
Booking runs through one telephone line and nothing else, no online system, and peak dates go weeks ahead. If you would rather have the date held without working a French phone queue, put your day and numbers in the form below and we will pass the request to the club to confirm availability and the current rates. Free to send, and it settles the only stressful part of an otherwise unhurried institution.
Book Club 55
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The Club 55 questions
How much does a day at Club 55 cost?
A sunbed has been reported around 38 euros for 2026, with a parasol near 18 euros, which is mid table for Pampelonne. The real bill is lunch, where a three course meal with house wine runs to roughly 100 euros a head by recent visitor accounts. There is no entry fee and no published minimum spend, so confirm the current rates when you book.
How far ahead do you need to book Club 55?
Reservations are taken by phone on +33 4 94 55 55 55, and in July and August the advice ranges from one week to two months ahead depending on the day you want. A weekday lunch early or late in the season is far easier to land than an August Saturday.
Is Club 55 a party beach club?
No, and that is the point of it. There are no DJs, no dancing on tables and no bottle parades. The day is built around a long Provencal lunch and quiet time on the sand, which makes it the calm counterweight to the party clubs further along Pampelonne.
Why is Club 55 so famous?
It opened in 1955, the year Roger Vadim shot And God Created Woman on this stretch of Pampelonne, and the film crew adopted the family beach hut as its canteen. Brigitte Bardot made the film a sensation, Saint Tropez followed, and the club has fed the famous and their families ever since without changing its recipe much.
Can you go to Pampelonne without paying a beach club?
Yes. Pampelonne is a public beach almost five kilometres long, and the concessions only hold part of it, so free sand runs between and beyond the clubs. Bring a towel and you can swim the same water as the 55 crowd for nothing, then decide whether the lunch is your splurge.