Before World War II, ROYAN, at the mouth of the Gironde, was a fashionable resort for the bourgeoisie. It's still popular – though no longer exclusive – and the modern town has lost its elegance to the dreary rationalism of 1950s town planning: broad boulevards, car parks, shopping centres, planned greenery. Ironically, the occasion for this planners' romp was provided by Allied bombing, an attempt to dislodge a large contingent of German troops who had withdrawn into the area after the D-Day landings. But the beaches – the most elegant and fashionable of which is in the suburb of Pontaillac to the northwest – are beautiful: fine pale sand, meticulously harrowed and raked near town, and wild, pine-backed and pounded by the Atlantic to the north. When looking for a Royan hotel, have a look at this website.
Pages in section ‘Royan’: The Town, Arrival, information and accommodation, Eating, drinking and nightlife, Palmyre and Talmont.
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