Saint-Raphaël, Var
Saint-Raphaël
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View of the old port of Saint-Raphaël from the Ferris wheel in 2021. | |
Location of Saint-Raphaël | |
| Coordinates: 43°25′31″N 6°46′06″E / 43.4252°N 6.7684°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Var |
| Arrondissement | Draguignan |
| Canton | Saint-Raphaël |
| Intercommunality | Estérel Côte d'Azur Agglomération |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Frédéric Masquelier |
Area 1 | 89.59 km2 (34.59 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | 36,632 |
| • Density | 410/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 83118 /83700 and 83530 |
| Elevation | 0–560 m (0–1,837 ft) (avg. 10 m or 33 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
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Saint-Raphaël (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʁafaɛl] ⓘ; Occitan: Sant Rafèu Occitan pronunciation: [ˈsan raˈfɛw]) is a commune in the Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern France.
Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies a larger and older town, Fréjus; together they form an urban agglomeration known as Var Estérel Méditerranée, which also encompasses the smaller communes of Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, Puget-sur-Argens and Roquebrune-sur-Argens. In the second half of the 19th century, the township came under the influence of Mayor Felix Martin and writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr; owing to their efforts and its beneficial climate the commune developed into a seaside resort popular with artists, sportsmen and politicians.
It is the seat of the canton of Saint-Raphaël, also encompassing Fréjus and Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, which is the economic and cultural centre of Eastern Var, within the arrondissement of Draguignan. Its inhabitants are called Raphaëlois in French generally, or Rafelencs in Provençal Occitan.