Take the time to confront everyday life in Saint-Raphaël, to wander its streets loaded with history, to appreciate it in its modernity. First, you have to explore the straight and shaded streets and alleyways of the old town that used to be called the “quartier du village” or village district.
 
This is where the peasants lived. Even now, there is a daily flower and vegetable market there, typically Provencal. Stop to visit the San Raféu church, a Roman church dating from the 12th century, expanded in the 18th. The rectory now houses the Museum of Prehistory and Underwater Archaeology. Then, from the top of the 13th-century watchtower, enjoy the superb panoramic view of the bay.

The “marine quarter”, frequented primarily by fishermen, became in the 19th century a famous seaside resort.

And let’s not forget the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Victoire de Lepante, a Romano-Byzantine edifice built by Pierre Aublé between 1882 and 1889, with its depiction of the Archangel Raphaël, the town’s namesake, on the facade.