Royan was one of the last pockets of Nazi resistance in the second world war. The French government believed that there were only enemy soldiers and collaborator civilians in the town so the Allied forces bombed it off the face of the earth in 1945. The town was reconstructed in concrete and I think they have made a great job of making a beach look ugly. I wouldn't recommend staying.
Tomorrow I will take a ferry across La Gironde and start the Atlantic coastal path. I can't wait!
Photos - I didn't take many photos today as I was walking along busy roads, through bare fields and retail parks. The main photo is Royan from the marina. The others are Royan's concrete cathedral (which was built in only three years), and the winner of the most ostentatious, redundant railway station award. This railway station was neither near to a population nor was it near a railway. It is currently being used as a jumble sale megastore from what I could see.Read more
FranceNouvelle-AquitaineRoyanMaine Geoffroy45°38’43” N 1°2’9” W
FranceNouvelle-AquitaineRoyanMaine Geoffroy45°38’43” N 1°2’9” W