Saint-Raphaël, Var

Saint- Raphaël is a French port town with 33 624 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) on the Côte d' Azur in the Var.

Geography

Saint- Raphaël is located southwest of Cannes (24 km distance) and northeast of Saint- Tropez ( 20 km distance) and is both seaside and mountain resort. The city is located in the Baie de Saint- Raphaël and has grown together in the west with Fréjus. In the east it borders Agay, separated by the mountain Le Dramont. In the southeast of the city ( 6.5 km distance) at Le Dramont is well visible from the beach, the island of Ile d'Or. The town beach is sandy. On the other coast to Cannes, also called Les Calanques, there are mainly rocky shores with several smaller rocky islands. The small sinuous beaches east of the large marina Santa Lucia are heavily visited during the summer, as this stretch of coast is characterized by some very luxurious summer residences such as in boulouris.

Demographic development

Attractions

• The church of San Rafeu, which was built in the 12th century in Romanesque- Provence that also served as a fortress. Since the tower is reminiscent of the military architecture of the Templars, the church is sometimes referred to erroneously as a Knights Templar church. From the church tower from a remarkable panorama over the city, the modern church in the Byzantine style, the Gulf of Fréjus and the beach and the Massif des Maures in the hinterland.
• The Basilica of Notre- Dame de la Victoire was built in the mid-19th century to commemorate the victory of the Christian Mediterranean powers against Sultan Selim II, the fleet under Admiral Ali Pasha in the Battle of Lepanto. Only in 2004 the church of John Paul II was awarded the title of basilica.

Twinning

Saint- Raphaël is twinned with Jermuk in Armenia, in Ghent, Belgium, the German St. Georgen in the Black Forest, as well as the Israeli Tiberias.

Gallery

In the church of San Rafeu built tower.

The medieval watchtower of Saint Raphael.

The new bus station opened in 2010 next to the (Gare SNCF) railway station.