A once-glamorous coastal town on the French Riviera is losing its luster, many tourists say. Long known as a playground for celebrities and the ultra-rich, Saint-Tropez has found a new audience: influencers who showcase its designer shops and picturesque waterfront.Luxury travel influencer JQ Louise, who has been visiting Saint-Tropez for 15 years, told Fox News Digital in an interview that the destination is "packed."POPULAR VACATION HOT SPOTS SLAP LIMITS ON TOURIST RENTALS, DRIVING AND MORE TO PROTECT 'STUNNING' SPACES"I think influencers have really captured how picturesque it is," said Louise, who is based in Boston."Saint-Tropez is a dream destination."But that exposure comes with a downside, Louise said — particularly during the height of summer.Saint-Tropez has long attracted celebrities and wealthy travelers, while social media has introduced the French Riviera destination to a wider audience.
(Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)"If you go in June, July or August — and particularly July and August — Saint-Tropez is packed," she said, adding that visitors could find themselves "shoulder to shoulder" with crowds at the port, popular cafés and beach clubs.Once a quiet Mediterranean fishing village, Saint-Tropez exploded into a global hot spot in the 1950s, sparking a massive, decades-long surge in tourism, the National Geographic reported."The crowd has become almost unbearable."Today, the town of just 4,000 permanent residents is stretched to its absolute breaking point, absorbing up to 80,000 daily visitors during the July and August rush, the Saint-Tropez Tourism Office noted.The sheer volume of summer crowds has become so unsustainable that the mayor, Sylvie Siri, is now publicly pleading with travelers to visit during the off-season instead, according to the BBC.POPULAR DESTINATION CRACKS DOWN HARD ON TOURISTS AS NEW LIMITS THREATEN SUMMER GETAWAYSOn a Reddit forum dedicated to luxury travel, one traveler recently asked whether the French Riviera was even...