The best city hikes and walks in Forêt Des Combots D'Ansoine

The carrelets are today part of the emblematic images of Royan and the Côte de Beauté. However, contrary to what the current landscape might suggest, the large pontoons with huts are relatively recent. A much older fishing The word carrelet originally designates the square net used for very simple fishing. Fishing with a carrelet has been attested in the region since at least the 18th century. At that time, these were not yet the elegant huts on stilts that we know today. The fisherman used a square frame with a net, which he lowered into the water and then quickly pulled up. This fishing was particularly practiced by women and could provide a dietary supplement. The turning point of 1900: the birth of the pontoons It was around 1900 that the carrelet began to change its nature. With the development of sea bathing and seaside tourism in Royan, fixed structures appeared on the quays, rocks, and cliffs. In Royan, they can be found in particular on the rocks of Pigeonnier and at Pontaillac. Initially, they were essentially simple masts equipped with a winch. The users were often merchants, liberal professions, retirees, or wealthy owners rather than professional fishermen. A particularly interesting old photograph shows the conche de Pontaillac in 1918, with fishing installations. The carrelets become leisure spots Between the two wars, and especially after 1945, the carrelets multiplied. The generalization of paid holidays, the increase in free time, and the development of popular holidays favored their transformation into real small holiday resorts. The installations gradually became more substantial: cliff → footbridge → pontoon → hut → mast and winch → square net Owners often built their own installations with wood or salvaged materials. In the 1950s, this practice experienced a real boom around Royan. Why are there so many carrelets around Royan? The relief of the Côte de Beauté is particularly well-suited for this. They can be found in particular: * in Royan, at the Pointe du Chay, at Pigeonnier and at Pontaillac; * in Vaux-sur-Mer, particularly towards the conche de Gilet; * in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, along the headlands of Terre-Nègre and Perrières, towards the Pont du Diable and the Concié; * in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, particularly towards Suzac; * in Meschers-sur-Gironde, along the cliffs and coves. The carrelet is indeed identified today as a viewpoint in Royan. The 1999 storm: a catastrophe The carrelets are extremely vulnerable to storms. The storms of 1996 and especially 1999 destroyed a very large part of the installations in Charente-Maritime. On the coasts of Aunis and Saintonge, nearly 90% of the approximately 700 carrelets had been destroyed during the January 2000 storm. They were then gradually rebuilt, with the help of owners and public schemes. Today: a heritage of Royan The carrelet is therefore not just a fishing equipment. It has become an element of the maritime and landscape heritage of Royan. The Musée du patrimoine du Pays Royannais classifies it as 20th-century maritime heritage and points out that the current installations are essentially the result of the development of this practice in the 20th century. An interesting historical point: the carrelets that we spontaneously associate with Royan today are therefore mainly the result of the evolution of seaside tourism after 1900 and their extraordinary development after 1945, and not the intact survival of a very old tradition of fishing huts.

How the idea for the first concert in 1987 was born and how Philippe Tranchet and Royan Fréquence technically managed to broadcast this violin live from the beach... almost by accident from a radio project. 📻 The starting point: Royan Fréquence In the early 1980s, Philippe Tranchet created the local radio station Royan Fréquence. He didn't just want to make it a radio station: he also organized events to bring Royan to life, especially during the summer season. He had a habit of imagining rather unusual events. His idea in 1987 was therefore above all a radio one: to stage a real classical concert live from the Grande-Conche beach, and to have it heard by the listeners of Royan Fréquence. It wasn't about creating a festival yet. 🎻 The meeting with Patrice Mondon A few years earlier, Philippe Tranchet had met Jean-Jacques Goldman in the studios of Royan Fréquence. Goldman had agreed to sponsor the young radio station and came to Royan with his violinist, Patrice Mondon, a violinist with the Paris Opera. This meeting was to be decisive. Tranchet asked Mondon to take on a rather extravagant challenge: to play the violin alone on the Grande-Conche, on a summer evening, in a tuxedo, with his feet in the sand. The choice of the tuxedo was not accidental: Philippe Tranchet was precisely looking for the contrast between the very solemn universe of a classical concert and the totally relaxed one of the beach. 🌊 The evening of 1987 In 1987, Patrice Mondon set up on the beach. He notably played a Bach aria, accompanied by a soundtrack broadcast by the radio. A contemporary source dedicated to the 30th anniversary also indicates that he performed "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles, whose string arrangement lent itself particularly well to the experiment. And then an extraordinary scene occurred. Listeners of Royan Fréquence began to wonder if the concert was really being broadcast live. They took their transistor radios and headed down to the Grande-Conche. On the beach and the seafront, people could then be seen listening to the radio while watching the violinist play in front of them. Radio and reality merged. It was this experience that gave birth to "Un Violon sur le Sable". 🎼 But why the name "Un Violon sur le Sable"? It was precisely the contrast that appealed to Tranchet: a musician in a tuxedo, a prestigious instrument, Bach... and around him: the sand, the sea, the waves, the holidaymakers, and the wind. Later, Philippe Tranchet himself summarized the problem with this phrase: "It was a challenge to pit a Stradivarius against its worst enemies: sand, wind, salt, the tide." This sentence explains quite well why the experience was so unusual for a classical musician. 🎻 1988: we do it again... but with four violins The success of the first attempt led to the experiment being repeated in 1988. This time, it was no longer a soloist but a string quartet. Then the progression was spectacular: 1987: 1 violin ↓ 1988: string quartet ↓ following years: chamber orchestra ↓ 1990s: symphony orchestra ↓ 1999: three concerts ↓ today: large symphony orchestra and international soloists. And in 2012, the adventure extended to the town with "Un Violon sur la Ville", which allowed the use of other venues in Royan and the surrounding area for more intimate concerts. A little anecdote that explains a lot What is quite remarkable is that the festival was not originally conceived as a classical music festival. It was born from a much simpler idea: "What if we broadcast a real concert from the beach, live on the radio?" Popular success then gradually transformed this experience into one of Royan's major musical events.

🎻 The story of „Un Violon sur le Sable” in Royan „Un Violon sur le Sable” (A Violin on the Sand) was born in 1987 on the La Grande-Conche beach in Royan, on the initiative of Philippe Tranchet, then director of the local radio station Royan Fréquence. The idea was quite crazy for the time: to broadcast a classical music concert live from the beach. 1987: Literally… a single violin For the first edition, Philippe Tranchet asked his friend Patrice Mondon, a violinist with the Paris Opera, to come and play alone on the beach. The choice of setting and attire was deliberately spectacular: Patrice Mondon played in a tailcoat, with his feet in the sand, accompanied not by an orchestra present on site, but by a soundtrack. He notably performed an aria by Bach. The concert was broadcast live on Royan Fréquence. Listeners even came to the seafront with their transistor radios to check that what they were hearing on the radio corresponded to what was happening on the beach. It is this image – a violinist in a tailcoat playing facing the ocean – that would give the festival its name and identity. 1988: The violin becomes a quartet The experience was renewed as early as 1988, this time with a string quartet and with the support of the municipality of Royan. Then, progressively: quartet; chamber orchestra; ensemble of about twenty musicians; then a symphony orchestra of about 55 musicians. Conductor Jérôme Pillement led the orchestra from 1992. 1999: Birth of the true festival A major step occurred in 1999: the event expanded to three major concerts, and the orchestra then numbered around 60 musicians. It was truly at this time that the original concert became a festival. 2012: „Un Violon sur la Ville” In 2012, the festival extended beyond the beach with the creation of „Un Violon sur la Ville” (A Violin in the City). Concerts were then organized in various locations in Royan and neighboring towns: gardens, churches, markets, and other unusual places. Today The original principle, however, has remained intact: to bring great classical music down to the beach, in front of the ocean, rather than reserving it for concert halls. The orchestra now brings together more than 70 musicians, to whom various guest soloists are added. Concerts can gather tens of thousands of spectators on La Grande-Conche. The festival also plays with a rather extraordinary paradox: classical instruments are exposed to sand, salt, humidity, wind, and the cool night air. Philippe Tranchet summarized this challenge by talking about the confrontation of a Stradivarius with „its worst enemies, sand, wind, salt, the tide”. 🎼 A story particularly linked to Jean-Jacques Goldman There is also an interesting anecdote concerning Jean-Jacques Goldman. Philippe Tranchet had met the singer in connection with Royan Fréquence. Goldman had agreed to sponsor the radio station and came to Royan accompanied by his violinist Patrice Mondon. It was this meeting that notably led Tranchet to think of Mondon for the first concert in 1987. 📍 The historic location The most interesting thing is that the location of the first concert in 1987 is still the emblematic site of the festival: La Grande-Conche of ROYAN

The Palais des Congrès de Royan is one of the most emblematic buildings of Royan's reconstruction after the bombings of 1945. It is located in Foncillon, facing the estuary of the Gironde. 1. Before the Palais: the Foncillon Casino The Palais was built on the site of the former Foncillon Casino, destroyed during the Allied bombings of January 5, 1945. After the war, the municipality wanted to make this location a new place for entertainment and meetings. The project eventually evolved towards the creation of one of the first true congress palaces in France. 2. Construction: 1954-1957 The project was entrusted to Claude Ferret, chief architect for the reconstruction of Royan, with Pierre Marmouget, Adrien Courtois, and Jacques Bruneau. * Project: 1954 * Construction: 1954-1957 * Inauguration: August 31, 1957 * Client: Ville de Royan. The architecture was particularly innovative for the time: a building set on stilts, a flat roof-terrace, largely open facades, geometric volumes, and circulation between interior and exterior. The building is part of the Modern Movement, notably with the influence of 1950s Brazilian architecture. 3. An exceptional facade: Jean Prouvé One of the most remarkable features is the facade facing the sea. It featured perforated aluminum panels from Jean Prouvé's workshops. Their arrangement allowed light to be filtered and created very particular shadow effects inside. The large performance hall, designed as a rotunda, also benefited from a stage wall pierced with square openings. 4. A building designed to be versatile Upon its opening, the Palais was not solely intended for congresses. It included, among other things: * a large hall that could accommodate around 1,000 people; * ten commission rooms; * a vast hall; * exhibition galleries; * a restaurant; * a bar; * spaces intended for outdoor parties and events. It thus became an important element of Royan's tourist, cultural, and economic life. 5. The transformations of the 1970s The building was unfortunately to be profoundly modified. In the 1970s, a large glass facade was added on the sea side, and a glazed cubic extension was built on the garden side. These transformations considerably altered the appearance intended by Claude Ferret. A fresco was also created by Nadu Marsaudon in 1977. 6. The rebirth of the Palais: 2021-2023 A major restoration was undertaken to restore the 1950s architecture as much as possible. The work, led notably by Pierre Ferret, son of Claude Ferret, with the chief architect of historic monuments François Chatillon, allowed for: * the removal of the cubic extension; * the restitution of the original volumes; * the restoration of the sea-facing facade; * the recovery of the original colors of Jean Prouvé's panels; * the modernization of equipment, accessibility, and safety. The Palais reopened after this restoration in 2023. 7. Reinforced heritage recognition The building had been listed as a historic monument in 2011. A further step was taken with its classification as a historic monument by decree of July 1, 2025, which constitutes the highest level of heritage protection. Today, the Palais is therefore considered a major element of the architectural heritage of Royan's Reconstruction. A particularly interesting detail The Palais de Royan is often presented as one of the first congress palaces built in France, or even as the first designed as such. Atelier Ferret describes it as the first Palais des Congrès built in France.

Royan plunges us into the 1950s with its joyful and radiant modernist seaside architecture. Characteristic of this bold architecture, the shell-shaped central market is one of the city's emblematic monuments. Built from 1955 onwards based on plans by architects Louis Simon and André Morisseau, in collaboration with engineer René Sarger, this original building succeeds a covered market that was completely destroyed during the city's bombings in 1945. With a vault made of a thin concrete veil 7 cm thick, it was considered an architectural feat at the time and served as a model for the construction of the CNIT in La Défense and inspiration for the Bucharest circus! At the top of this dome, a series of openings allows the market to be lit thanks to a play of glass bricks that reflect light.

Built from 1955 and consecrated in 1958, the Notre-Dame de Royan church symbolizes the city standing tall and proud again. The reinforced concrete monument thus fits into the general trend of renewal in sacred art after the sad events the world experienced in the 1940s. It is considered today as a feat and a masterpiece of modern architecture. "Upon entering this concrete cathedral, be silent. Here, everything is momentum, rigor, roughness, austere beauty. The twilight sings the elusive, the divine, variable and constant like the sea." ANDRÉ MALRAUX Minister of Cultural Affairs (1958-1969)

Beautiful market hall with a great selection of regional products. Closes around noon.

🏖️ General Overview Chay Beach is a family-friendly, fine sandy beach located in Royan (Charente-Maritime), on the Côte d’Argent promenade between Pigeonnier Beach and Pointe du Chay. It stretches for approximately 200 meters and boasts a pleasant natural setting, with a cove bordered by rocks typical of the Charente coastline. 🏝️ Features • 🌊 Beach type: fine sand, sheltered cove. • 🏄‍♂️ Atmosphere: relatively calm and family-friendly, ideal for children and vacationers seeking relaxation away from the large urban beaches. • 🐾 Pets: prohibited from April 1st to September 30th. • 🫧 Water quality: excellent (Blue Flag label awarded for 2025). 🧭 Lifeguard and Safety • Swimming is supervised during the season (June to early September), with areas marked by red and yellow flags. • The area is classified as a Category 3 "Supervised Beach" and lifeguards are present during the indicated hours. 🪑 Amenities On-site, you can find: • 🏖️ Sun loungers, parasols, and mattresses for rent. • 🚿 Foot rinse and public restrooms. • 📶 Wi-Fi access, first aid station, and an area accessible to people with reduced mobility (assistance may be required depending on the slope). • 🍴 Beachfront restaurant ("Le Chay" bar-restaurant with sea views). 🚶‍♂️ Atmosphere and Activities • 🎈 Ideal for families and leisurely strolls. • 🌞 People come here for swimming, playing on the sand, flying kites, or simply relaxing by the ocean. • 🅿️ Parking is available nearby, and the beach is easily accessible on foot or by bike from Royan town center in just a few minutes. 🧭 Practical Tips • 📆 Best time to visit: summer for supervised swimming and full services, but also during the off-season for a more peaceful atmosphere. • ☀️ Arriving early in the morning makes parking easier during peak season. • 🐶 Dogs are not allowed during the summer season; check the signs on site during the off-season.