Colorful houses by the water with boats in the harbor and gentle hills in the background reflect in the calm water. A wooden dock leads to a canal bordered by colorful pastel houses and a boat in the water.
France

Port Grimaud: Venice à la Côte d’Azur

Dockside Living: A Waterfront Haven in Pastel Hues.
 Port Grimaud, France, October 2022

Port Grimaud is a place that enchants at first glance. A little lagoon town with canals, bridges, and pastel-colored houses, nestled in the landscape of the Côte d’Azur. The water shimmers, the boats sway gently, everything seems perfectly in place—because everything is perfectly in place.

Port Grimaud is a meticulously staged backdrop, the visionary creation of architect François Spoerry. In the 1960s, he had a stretch of marshy coastline drained, carved out canals, and built a private nostalgia town—a Mediterranean utopia for boat owners dreaming of their own perfect little world.

Inspired by the fishing villages of Provence, he designed each house with its own mooring, painting the facades in warm pastels, topping them with artificially weathered roof tiles and wrought-iron balconies—giving the illusion of a town that had slowly grown over centuries. Even the man-made lagoons were shaped to mimic a natural coastline.

At the heart of Port Grimaud stands the Church of Saint-François d’Assise, designed by Spoerry himself—an unconventional reimagining of a Provençal village church. A hulking yellow mass of rough concrete, minimalist, modern, and a size too large for its surroundings. It’s an impressive structure, deliberate in its simplicity, but ultimately, just another part of the illusion.

Spoerry’s vision was bold, and architecturally, Port Grimaud is a success. A flawlessly curated idyll. You can stroll along the canals, admire the boats, linger on the bridges. But in the end, it feels less like walking through a town and more like moving through a stage set. Everything is clean, charming, picture-perfect. And utterly soulless.

Map of Port Grimaud
Charming houses with colorful facades line the canal, surrounded by water and boats in a picturesque setting.
Colorful buildings along the canal reflect in the water, with decorative balconies and palm trees enhancing the picturesque scene.
Colorful houses by the water with boats in the foreground and calm sea in the background.
Colorful houses reflect in the water, with a boat docked nearby and a large tree providing shade.
A tranquil waterway with boats, surrounded by tall masts and a prominent yellow church building in the background.
The Church of Saint-François d’Assise in Port Grimaud, an unorthodox yet striking landmark. Its cylindrical design and minimalist façade stand in contrast to the surrounding masts and Mediterranean homes.
View of the interior of a church with wooden beams, colorful windows, and wooden benches bathed in soft light tones.
A rectangular room with a wooden ceiling, an altar table, a cross on the wall, and colorful lighting.
Colorful houses by the water with boats in the harbor and gentle hills in the background reflect in the calm water.
Sunlight reflects off the calm waters of Port Grimaud, where colorful houses with terracotta roofs line the canal.
A wooden dock leads to a canal bordered by colorful pastel houses and a boat in the water.
A private dock in Port Grimaud, leading straight to the pastel-colored waterfront homes. Designed as a boat-friendly village, nearly every house here has direct access to the canals—where the street is water, and the front door is a mooring spot.
A wooden bridge spans water leading to colorful residential buildings by a harbor, with boats docked nearby.
A wooden pier extends into a calm canal surrounded by colorful buildings and a white boat reflected in the water.
Colorful buildings reflect in the calm canal where boats are moored, gently flowing between the shores.
A large round tree towers over a building with colorful shutters, with boats anchored in the water in front.
A white fence with a small gate leads to several colorful houses in the background, surrounded by green plants.
A narrow walkway leads to a green gate surrounded by a dense hedge. Colorful houses are visible in the background.
Wooden sheds with a light wood finish, surrounded by green bushes in front of typical colorful buildings in the background.
A picturesque alley with stone houses, green plants, and a small tree in the center, surrounded by fences.
A narrow waterway lined with boats, surrounded by modern buildings and trees under bright sunshine.
Marinas filled with yachts and boats surrounded by colorful houses and lush greenery in the background.