Saint-Raphaël’s ideal location and unique beauty have attracted people from all over the world. Prominent writers, artists, and leaders have been among them.

“To know where we are going, we must know where we come from.” Following this adage, we recount the history of the city of Saint-Raphaël, starting from when humans first settled in the area.

This expression refers to stone buildings. Saint-Raphaël has several of those that can be spotted in different parts of town. Those structures are a reminder that the Estérel region was inhabited as soon as the third millennium before our era.”

Known in France as "Tobie", Tobit appears on the coat of arms along with the Archangel Rafael. He was a young Israelite prisoner in Babylon who remained loyal to his god in defiance of the common practice of worshipping of what he regarded as idols.

Until the 1880’s Saint-Raphaël had a traditional layout with two main quarters:

• the Village consisted of a cluster of houses surrounding the parish church
• the Marine was a fishing hub that centred around the port.