Saintes, Charente-Maritime

Saintes is a French commune and historic town, a subprefecture in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. It is in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Saintes.

Before the French Revolution, Saintes was the capital of the old province of Saintonge.

Geography
Saintes is in the central eastern part of the Charente-Maritime department, in the old province of Saintonge, along the Charente river that flows through the commune from south to north.

The commune has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The distances from Saintes to other cities are:
 Paris, the national capital - ;
 Bordeaux, the regional capital - ;
 Toulouse - ;
 Reims - ;
 Lyon - ;
 Montpellier - ;
 Strasbourg - ;
 Nantes - ;
 Marseille - .

+ Saintes and its neighboring communes 350px|Map of the commune of Saintes

The commune of Saintes is surrounded by the communes:

Climate
The climate of Saintes, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.

Population
The inhabitants of this city are known, in French, as Saintais (women: Saintaises).

With a population of 25,149, Saintes has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Saintes

 Administration 
Saintes is a subprefecture of the Charente-Maritime department, the capital of the arrondissement of Saintes and the administrative centre () of the canton of Saintes.

It is part of the intercommunality CA Saintes ().

 Twinned and partner towns 
Saintes is twinned with:
  Nivelles, Belgium
  Xanten, Germany
  Timbuktu, Mali
  Vladimir, Russia
  Salisbury, England
  Cuevas del Almanzora, Spain

 Gallery 

Related pages
 Arrondissement of Saintes
 Communes of the Charente-Maritime department

References

Other websites

 Ville de Saintes website 
 Tourist Office Saintes & Saintonge 

Category:Subprefectures in France
Category:Communes in Charente-Maritime