Escalet

Plage de l'Escalet is the antidote to the Pampelonne scene, a few kilometres south below Ramatuelle. It is a small natural cove of mixed sand and pebbles with clear water, no beach club, no row of loungers and no list of celebrities. What it has instead is rock, sea and quiet, and a setting that still feels like the coast as it was before the clubs arrived. For a certain kind of beach day near Saint Tropez, it is the best one going.

The cove rewards snorkellers most of all. The rocky edges shelter small fish and the water is clear enough to make a mask and snorkel worth packing, and unlike the genuinely wild coves further on, l'Escalet does have basic facilities, with toilets and showers on the beach and supervised swimming in season. The other reason to come is the coastal path. Take the sentier littoral to the right from the cove and it leads to a string of quieter sandy coves and on toward the headland of Cap Taillat, a walk that is one of the loveliest on this stretch of coast.

The honest read is that l'Escalet is small and known, so its limits matter. Parking is a modest paid area that fills early on summer days, shade is scarce, and the pebbly patches mean water shoes earn their place. Once you walk the coastal path beyond the cove there are no facilities at all, so anything you want for the day you carry, and you carry it all back. None of that is a flaw. It is simply the trade for a beach that has kept its character.

Who should skip it: anyone wanting loungers, a beach club lunch and easy parking, who will be happier on Pampelonne. Who should go: walkers, snorkellers and anyone craving a quiet, natural cove within reach of Saint Tropez. Pair it with the coastal path to Cap Taillat, or with the calmer family beach at Salins on the other side of the cape.

Plage de l'Escalet sits below Ramatuelle a short drive south of the Pampelonne beaches, reached by car on the route des plages with a modest paid parking area near the cove. There is no easy bus, so a car is by far the simplest way to arrive, and the small car park fills early on summer days.

Come early on a weekday in June or September for the calmest water, the easiest parking and the quietest cove, and pack a mask and snorkel for the rocky edges. Wear shoes you can walk the coastal path in, bring your own shade since there is little, and carry water and food if you plan to follow the sentier littoral toward Cap Taillat.