This tour trades St Tropez's glamour for a quieter, more lived-in stretch of the Var coast, visiting two villages with a much longer and less polished history.
Your first stop is Bormes-les-Mimosas, a medieval hill village classified among the most beautiful villages in France. Its earliest known residents were the Bormani, a Ligurian tribe who settled the nearby coast around 400 BC before moving up into the hills in the 9th century to escape Saracen raids. The village and its ramparts as they stand today were largely built in the 12th century, and the ruined castle overlooking the streets, held by the Lords of Fos through the Middle Ages, was later converted into a convent before falling into ruin. You walk narrow, flower-covered lanes with ocean views at nearly every turn, with a short optional climb to the castle ruins and the nearby St Trophime Church and Notre Dame de Constance Chapel for some of the best views on this stretch of coast, plus free time to get lunch on your own.
From Bormes you continue to Le Lavandou, an old fishing village turned relaxed seaside town with sandy beaches and coastal footpaths in place of St Tropez's yacht harbor. Painters, writers, and performers have long come here to rest or find inspiration away from the more crowded resorts nearby, and you have free time to walk its waterfront, browse the local market, and get a feel for a more low-key side of the Riviera before returning to St Tropez.