Saint-Raphael

Saint-Raphael is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies another, older, town called Fréjus, and together they form an urban agglomeration known as Fréjus Saint-Raphaël. The Var lies in the region called Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, often abbreviated to PACA.

In the second half of the nineteenth century the township came under the influence of mayor Felix Martin and writer Alphonse Karr, and owing to their efforts and its beneficial climate the commune developed into a seaside resort popular with artists, sportsmen and politicians.

It is the headquarters of the Fréjus Saint-Raphaël canton, which is the economic and cultural center of eastern Var and lies in the arrondisement of Draguignan.

Saint-Raphaël has four large sandy beaches: one near the city centre, called the Veillat; one at Boulouris; one at Le Dramont, and the fourth at Agay. There are two smaller ones at Anthéor et Le Trayas.

St. Raphaël is located on the Côte d'Azur and enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters.

Travel

  • Rail: The town's modern rail station is named 'Saint-Raphaël-Valescure' and offers national, regional and local train services. High-speed TGV and iDTGV trains - from Paris-Gare du Lyon (destination Nice); Corail Lunéa - from Paris-Gare d'Austerlitz (destination Nice); Lines 03 and 06 of TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur - from Marseille-Gare Saint-Charles (destination Nice); TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur - local stopping service to Nice.
  • Air: International scheduled air passenger services are available at L'aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur (45 km), L'aéroport de Marseille Provence (118 km). Private, commercial and freight services are conducted at: L'aéroport de Cannes - Mandelieu (20 km), L'aéroport de La Môle - Saint-Tropez (24 km).
  • Bus: Saint-Raphaël is well served by bus routes, and has a busy bus station in the town centre.
  • Boat: The shuttle "Boats of Saint-Raphaël" provide fast connections to St. Aygulf, Port-Fréjus, the islands of Lerins, Saint-Tropez and Cannes.

Distances

  • Fréjus: 0 Km
    • 

  • Saint-Tropez: 20 km
    • 

  • Cannes: 25 km
    • 

  • Draguignan: 27 km
    • 

  • Brignoles: 57 km
    • 

  • Toulon: 75 km
    • 

  • Marseilles: 111 km
    • 

  • Paris: 695 km

History

In 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte and his forces arrived by ship from Egypt, prior to his coup d'état in Paris, and landed at a fishing village that was the commune of Saint-Raphaël.
The coastal double-track rail link between Saint-Raphaël and Nice passes over a substantial viaduct constructed right on the shoreline at Anthéor. These tracks were of strategic importance to the Axis forces during World War II for supplying matériel to units in France.
There were three separate air raids made on this viaduct from England, between September 1943 and February 1944, involving a total of thirty-one Lancaster bombers operating some seven hundred miles from base. Aircraft of the second raid flew on to Rabat, and from the third raid on to Sardinia. One Lancaster from the first raid was lost, and a flight lieutenant bomb aimer on the third raid was killed by enemy fire, some of which came from ships at sea. All the raids failed in their objective and the rail link was not severed.
During World War II, on August 15, 1944, it was one of the sites of a beach landing in Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France.