Cabane Bambou

Cabane Bambou sits on Route de Bonne Terrasse, at the southern tip of Pampelonne where the bay narrows and the crowds thin out, and it keeps a lower profile than the clubs further up the sand. The beach day is short and unhurried: beds go out from 10:30 and come in around 18:00, lunch runs straight through from midday to four, and a single price covers the bed and its parasol. What makes the place worth planning around is the evening. From July through August the kitchen switches to an outdoor barbecue and apero service on Thursday and Friday nights, and to full dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, running late with live music, so it is one of the few Pampelonne addresses that works as both a beach and a night out without changing venue. The food stays deliberately plain by Saint-Tropez standards, southern French cooking built on whatever the season offers rather than an imported concept. Boats can be met by Alex, the club's boatman, on VHF channel 74. Because the site is small and the beds are widely spaced, weekend lunch in August fills early and is worth booking well ahead.