Port Grimaud: Colorful houses by the water with boats and greenery, reflecting in the calm water. Gentle hills in the background. A colorful waterfront in Port Grimaud featuring a wooden dock, sailboat, and vibrant houses reflecting 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
A picturesque canal in Port Grimaud with colorful buildings and boats, reflecting a sunny Mediterranean atmosphere.
A picturesque canal in Port Grimaud, featuring charming buildings with colorful facades and reflections on the water.
Colorful waterfront houses and boats in Port Grimaud reflect in calm waters, with the Mediterranean Sea in the background.
A picturesque view of Port Grimaud featuring colorful buildings, a tree, and boats on the tranquil waterfront.
A scenic view of Port Grimaud featuring the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, surrounded by boats and masts against calm waters.
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.
Interior of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Port Grimaud, featuring colorful stained glass windows and wooden beams.
An interior view of a chapel in Port Grimaud, featuring a wooden cross, altar, and soft purple lighting.
Port Grimaud: Colorful houses by the water with boats and greenery, reflecting in the calm water. Gentle hills in the background.
Sunlight reflects off the calm waters of Port Grimaud, where colorful houses with terracotta roofs line the canal.
A colorful waterfront in Port Grimaud featuring a wooden dock, sailboat, and vibrant houses reflecting 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 walkway leading to colorful buildings in Port Grimaud, with boats lined up in the marina on a sunny day.
A picturesque marina in Port Grimaud with colorful houses reflecting in calm waters, featuring a boat docked at the pier.
A picturesque canal in Port Grimaud, lined with colorful buildings and moored boats, under a clear blue sky.
A picturesque view of Port Grimaud featuring a large tree over a waterfront building, with moored boats reflecting in the calm water.
A charming white wooden gate in Port Grimaud, with colorful pastel buildings and lush greenery in the background.
A vibrant street view in Port Grimaud featuring colorful houses, lush greenery, and a stone pathway.
A street view in Port Grimaud showcasing wooden garage doors with a tiled roof and lush greenery in the background.
A charming street view in Port Grimaud featuring stone buildings, lush greenery, and a hint of sailboats in the background.
A sunny marina in Port Grimaud with moored boats and stylish waterfront buildings lining the canal.
A scenic view of Port Grimaud's marina, featuring numerous yachts docked in calm waters, with colorful buildings and mountains in the background.