The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum in Saint-Tropez
The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum in Saint-Tropez is a short, calm stop linked to the town’s film history. Located in the former gendarmerie building, it connects cinema heritage with a walk through the port and old town.
What the sources say
The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum in Saint-Tropez (French: Le musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma de Saint-Tropez) is a museum located in Saint-Tropez, presenting the history of the local gendarmerie unit and the town’s film heritage. Since the 1960s, Saint-Tropez has been a filming location for numerous French film productions.
The museum opened on 26 June 2016. Between 1879 and 2003, the building served as the local gendarmerie headquarters and was later renovated inside and out before being converted into a museum. The exhibition is divided into three main sections. It presents the history of the building and the local gendarmerie unit, displays restored police equipment from the 20th century, and explores the circumstances surrounding the filming of the famous Gendarme film series directed by Jean Girault.
The first film, The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez, starring Louis de Funès as Sergeant Cruchot, was released in 1964. The final film, The Gendarme and the Policemen, premiered in 1982. All films in the series, except the last one, were filmed in the museum building.
Wikipedia, „The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum in Saint-Tropez” (CC BY-SA 4.0), wikipedia.org, 2026/01/09.
My view
This is a place known to many people who grew up with French cinema. A visit allows you to step briefly into the world of the Gendarme films and see what everyday life in the historic police station looked like. I usually include this stop during coastal tours. The pace is calm, the exhibition can be explored at your own rhythm, and the atmosphere of the old port town is still very present.
If you want to see the museum as part of a ready-made route, it appears in the tour:
Film Riviera Tour — a relaxed day focused on places connected to cinema on the French Riviera.
For guests choosing a tailor-made day, the museum also works well as a short stop. The area around the Saint-Tropez port offers a pleasant space for walking, photos and observing everyday life in the town.
The museum in my tours
The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum is most often visited during the Film Riviera tour — this is where the film-focused part of the day usually begins. A visit typically lasts around 40–60 minutes. Entry is optional and ticketed. Inside, there are compact exhibitions, props, fragments of set design and the history of the former police station building.
During private tours, the museum may appear as:
- the starting point for exploring Saint-Tropez,
- a film-related element within a calm driving day with short stops,
- an addition to the port and old town, if you want to see Saint-Tropez beyond its most famous views.
Official museum website:
https://www.saint-tropez.fr/culture/mgc/
Short tips
- The best light for photos is in the morning or late afternoon.
- In season, it’s worth avoiding the port area between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm — it’s the busiest time.
- The exhibition is compact, which makes it easy to combine with a walk through the old town or a short break by the bay.
Le musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma de Saint-Tropez gallery
Le musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma de Saint-Tropez on map
How this place fits into my tours
This place appears in my routes when it naturally fits the day, the direction of travel, and the season. Sometimes it is one of the main points of the tour; other times it is a quiet stage along the way. It all depends on how the day is planned.
I treat ready-made tours as a starting point, not a closed script. If something needs to be shortened, extended, reordered, or combined with another place, we adjust as we go. We don’t move “from point to point”—we build a day that makes sense and feels comfortable.
You can see this place in tours such as:
If none of the ready-made routes fits perfectly, a tailor-made tour offers full flexibility. We can focus on one place, combine several stops, or build the day entirely from scratch. I take care of the route and logistics, and the plan is adjusted to you—not the other way around.
Tour: Cinematic Riviera
The route includes Saint-Tropez, Port Grimaud and Cannes – towns known from films, festivals and iconic harbour scenes. From former film locations to promenades and marinas, this tour shows the French Riviera as it appears in European cinema and popular culture.
Tour: A Day Exclusively for You
This is a day without a preset plan. We can focus on one place, combine several towns or follow a specific theme. The route is shaped entirely around what you want to see – Nice, the coast, the hills or less obvious locations away from the main routes.
