Between 1470 and 1672, Saint-Tropez was effectively ruled as an independent republic by captains drawn from its guilds and elected by the town citizenry. The captain had the privilege of raising a standing army, which drove away a fleet of Spanish galleons in 1637, and the area was not taxed or levied by the French government during this time. However, this privilege was abrogated by King Louis XIV, who reasserted French control over the city.

In the 1920s Saint-Tropez attracted international stars from the world of fashion. During World War II, on August 15, 1944, it was the central site of a beach landing in Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. After the war it became the French existentialists' summer retreat. But it was in the 1950s — partly thanks to Brigitte Bardot — that Saint-Tropez received international recognition.

Pink Floyd wrote about it with their 1971 song San Tropez.