-tropez's charms long before brigitte bardot and the jet set.t-impressionist paul signac happened upon these shores in 1892 and began to paint. so bewitched by the place, he urged his friends and colleagues, including matisse, to join him. a fine museum near the port houses a collection of works by artists who loved the riviera-- the museum of the annonciade. you hardly feel you've come indoors in this airy museum hung with colorful seascapes. signac and his followers used small dashes of colors that, when viewed from a distance, blend together and seem infused with light-- a style called pointillism. nowhere is the celebration and tjoie de vivre of the riviera more delightfully captured than in this small museum dedicated to french art from 1890 to 1940. just southeast of st.-tropez, the plage, or beach, de pampelonne epitomizes the beach scene on the riviera. all along this curving coastline, beach clubs like the voile rouge, barfly beach, and club 55 cater to yachting millionaires and the like. you don't have to be rich and famous to partake.