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Royan

Royan

Royan is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

Plan a trip to Royan From Bordeaux

Capital of the Côte de Beauté, Royan is one of the main French Atlantic coastal resort towns, and has five beaches, a marina for over 1,000 boats, and an active fishing port.

Get in

Getting to Royan

The main roads in are the N150 and the D733. The former is considerable busier, coming in from Saintes which is next to the A10 motorway between Paris and Bordeaux. D733 connects to Rochefort and La Rochelle along the coast. Royan is served by a couple of regional express (TER) trains from Angoulême and Niort every day, and intercity trains in the high season.

  1. 01
    Gare de Royan

    In nearby Médis there's an airfield for general aviation.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Seafront

    The seafront is a 600 m long built extension of the Grande-Conche beach, a transition between the city and the beach, and the liveliest part of the city during summer.

  2. 02
    Royan Port
  3. 03
    Central

    The central market, in the shape of an inverted seashell, was designed by Louis Simon and André Morisseau and opened in 1957.

  4. 04
    Cordouan
  5. 05
    Coubre
  6. 06
    Église Notre-Dame

    Royan's Church of Our Lady was inaugurated in 1958 as the masterpiece of architect Guillaume Gillet.

Do

Things to do

Festival Escale d'Humour (Salle Jean Gabin). February. Stand-up comedy festival going on for several weeks in February with both known and unknown talents performing. The shows seem to be just in French, though. Festival des sports urbains (Skate park). May. An event dedicated to skateboarding, BMX biking, inline skating, street football and similar "urban sports". Un violon sur le sable (Grande-Conche beach). July.

  1. 01
    Croisières La Sirène

    Quai de Monastir, contact@pharedecordouan.com.

  2. 02
    Royan Croisières

    Different circuit tours on the estuary, some with and others without stops.

  3. 03
    Thalazur Royan

    Thalassotherapy (sea water therapy) center with massage, sea water bathing, solarium, spa, hammam, and gym.

  4. 04
    Hammam - Les bains de Royan

    Decorated in Middle Eastern style, the hammam offers warm baths and warm rooms and different treatments such as scrubs, wraps and massages.

  5. 05
    Fish Spa -

    Spa and "fish pedicure" (ichthyotherapy).

  6. 06
    Stade

    45 boulevard Franck Lamy (Centre-ville),.

Eat

Where to eat

Local meat specialties include Saintongeaise rabbit, Saintongeaise beef stew, grillons (rillettes of meat cooked in its own fat), gigourit (offal and blood stew), cagouilles (snails cooked with breadcrumbs, garlic and white wine), and also snail eggs (caviar de cagouilles). Like in much of southwestern France, foie gras prepared with Pineau des Charentes and different confits are also common on menus.

  1. 01
    Amigo Pizza Kebab

    House special pizzas include Périgourdine (with foie gras), Tropicale (chicken and pineapple) and Kebab (kebab meat, pineapple and mozzarella).

  2. 02
    BB Snack

    Decorated with football paraphernalia and is a meeting place for Girondins de Bordeaux fans.

  3. 03
    Bella Vita

    Sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers and kebabs.

  4. 04
    La boîte à

    Popular takeaway pizza and sandwich place, also has pastas and salads.

  5. 05
    Pizza Lulu

    Boulevard du Colonel Baillet.

How locals move

Getting around Royan the local way

  • Get inTransGironde ferries sail across Gironde from Le Verdon-sur-Mer.
  • Get inThe route comes in from north and goes to the pier and continues by ferry across the river (see by boat above).

From Wikivoyage: Royan, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.