BOAT-COMPARATOR Guide
Renting a Boat in Port-Grimaud, the Provençal Venice of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez
A lakeside village built entirely in the 20th century, canals running right up to the houses, three marinas and a 5-knot speed limit: exploring Port-Grimaud by boat.
At the far end of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, Port-Grimaud is nothing like an old fishing harbour: it's a village built from scratch starting in the 1960s, designed from day one so every house would have its own private mooring on a navigable canal. The result, nicknamed the "Provençal Venice", can be explored on foot or from a rented boat.
A village designed around the boat
Port-Grimaud's canals run right up to the front of the houses, on the model of northern Europe's lakeside towns. Cruising between the private moorings, under the small bridges linking the village's islets, is a very different experience from a regular day at sea. The village itself is pedestrian-only: cars stay in the car parks at the entrance, leaving the quays and lanes entirely to walkers and boats.
Three marinas and a 5-knot speed limit
The site is made up of three separate marinas, with public mooring on floating pontoons at Place François-Spoerry, the village's central square — named after the architect behind the project. Inside the harbour, speed is capped at 5 knots for the safety of pedestrians and other boats moored along the quays, a rule worth respecting closely in the narrowest canals.
Crossing the gulf to Saint-Tropez or Sainte-Maxime
Once clear of the maze of canals, the Gulf of Saint-Tropez opens right up: a few minutes' cruising is enough to reach Sainte-Maxime on the northern shore, or to cross over to Saint-Tropez itself — our guide to yacht rental in Saint-Tropez covers the options on the town side. The crossing stays generally calm, sheltered from any open-sea swell.
Budget and best season
License-free RIBs and small motorboats are easy to rent for a cruise through the canals and a run out into the gulf, at roughly the same price range as the rest of the Côte d'Azur. The season runs from April to October, peaking in July-August when it's best to book a slot several days ahead, especially for mooring on the public pontoons in the village centre.
Booking at the right price
Boat-Comparator compares live offers around Port-Grimaud and the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, to spot price gaps between platforms on the same type of boat.
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