St Raphael, France

Saint-Raphaël is a coastal commune in the Var, which is a département in France on the renowned and beautiful Côte d'Azur resort coast, in eastern Provence.

Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies another 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 the 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. Its inhabitants are called Raphaëlois in French generally, or Rafelencs in Provençal Occitan.