Saint-Tropez Gulf Guide - Part 6

Why is Gassin called Gassin?

I'm fired up.
And we're talking about one of the strongest villages in the Gulf.

Everything you need to know.
In plain terms.
In Southern style.

Gassin, first of all, is ancient. Very ancient.

The territory has been inhabited since the Neolithic period.
Long before rooftops and panoramic restaurants.

In the Middle Ages, the village was built on high ground.
Perched.
Strategic.

Here, the Gulf was monitored.
They protected themselves from invasions coming from the sea.

The bell tower?
Originally, a watchtower.

Gassin was never placed there by chance.
It dominates.

Today, about 2,600 inhabitants across 24 km².
But this territory was larger in the past.

Cavalaire gained its independence in 1929.
La Croix-Valmer in 1934.

The historical heart, however, remains intact.

It's called the village of Witches.
Mystical.
Mineral.
Suspended above the sea.

One of the most beautiful panoramas of the Gulf.
And ranked among the most beautiful villages in France.

Now, the name.

According to the toponymist Charles Rostaing, it could come from an ancient Ligurian root.
Another hypothesis suggests a phonetic evolution:
Garcin, then Gassin.

Some also speak of roots related to the perched stone, the rock, the promontory.

When you look at the village clinging to its rocky spur...
it seems quite logical.

Gassin is not a set.
It's an observation post that became a village.
A lookout that became a postcard.

The Gulf cannot be explained.
It is read in stone.

Heading for a blue journey.
Jules