Royan

Understand

thumb|300px|View of the harbour and the modernist church Notre-Dame.

Regarded as the capital city of the Côte de Beauté, Royan is at the Arvert peninsula at the mouth of the Gironde river estuary, the largest estuary in western Europe (and the largest in Europe left in its natural state). Royan has been a popular destination since the 19th century. Although the town was bombed several times during the Second World War it was quickly rebuilt in the 1950s in modernist style with tropical influences, and for this it received the status of Ville d'Art et d'Histoire (Town of Art and History) in 2010. Some notable buildings include the massive concrete Notre Dame Cathedral and shell-shaped central market. Due to its architecture it's also nicknamed France's most 1950s town, though it still has some traces from the time from before the war.

The town has around 18000 inhabitants, and is at the heart of an important conurbation with a population of almost 50000 inhabitants. That conurbation also includes the resorts of Vaux-sur-Mer, Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, Meschers-sur-Gironde and La Palmyre with its famous zoo, as well as the spa town of Saujon.

Royan is about more than just the town, it features five beaches with fine sand. Royan directly faces the wine region of Médoc and is in the middle of the Cognac region so it's also a destination for wine and cognac enthusiasts. Three green "lungs" surround the town – the State forest of Coubre and the forests of Co…

Buy

The four main shopping streets are Avenue Gambetta, Boulevard de la République, Boulevard Briand (where the central market is) and Cours de l'Europe. Each of these feature many small shops. The same goes for Place Charles-de-Gaulle (also known as Place Rouge, ie. the red square), the seafront and the marina (with the Voûtes du Port shopping arcades). In addition you can find many shops in the Parc and Pontaillac districts. In addition, the commercial zones Royan II, Belmont and Val-Lumière feature big box stores.

Drink

Most discos in the region are in neighbouring communes (Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, Breuillet et Saint-Georges-de-Didonne). There are three in Royan but outside of downtown to minimize nighttime noise.