Main city of the Côte de Beauté with 18,393 inhabitants in 2015, in the heart of an urban area of 48,982 inhabitants in 2013, Royan is primarily one of the main seaside resorts on the French Atlantic coast, with five beaches sand, and also a marina that can accommodate more than 1,000 boats and an active fishing port. Economic center radiating on the south-west quarter of the department (tertiary activities : shopping centers, crafts, banks and mutual, educational institutions) the city also lives at the pace of the university pole of Carel, specialized in language teaching.