Location Saintes is on the banks of the river
Charente, in the center-eastern part of the department. The city is based 60 km southeast of La Rochelle, 33 kilometers northeast of Royan, Nearer to the river, the Cretaceous plateau gives way to more or less recent alluvial grasslands composed of
bri, a type of clay. The uplifting of
Alps and
Pyrenees began during the
Maastrichtian, 65 Ma ago, and continued for a part of the
Paleogene.
Districts The town is divided into 14 administrative areas: Les Boiffiers, Les Tourneurs, L'Ormeau de Pied, Recouvrance, La Fenêtre, Saint-Rémy, Saint-Vivien, Saint-Eutrope, Saint-Pierre, Saint-Pallais, Saint-Sébastien de Bouard, La Récluse, Le Maine-Saint-Sorlin and Bellevue.
Left bank (Rive gauche) The neighbourhood of Saint-Pierre lies between the hill of the Capitole and the river Charente. It possesses a significant number of historic monuments justifying its forming the core of a conservation area that spans over . Built around the
cathedral Saint-Pierre, the
place du marché and the
place du Synode, it is crossed by pedestrian alleys around which can be found numerous medieval, renaissance and classic buildings. The
cours Reverseaux and
cours des Apôtres de la liberté separate Saint-Eutrope (and its hill) in the west from the
faubourg Berthonnière. These partly separate the hill of the Capitole to the north. Once outside the walls, the faubourg included some hostelries and inns for pilgrims. The
square Goulebenéze stands between the
place Blair and the river. The neighbourhoods of
les Boiffiers and
Bellevue are separated from the rest of the city by the
avenue de Saintonge; they consist mainly of low-rent housing (HLM) and suburban housing, standing on a plateau bounded by the Charente. Bellevue has inhabitants and spans ; it is listed as a
zone urbaine sensible (ZUS). La Recouvrance, in a triangle formed by the
cours du maréchal Leclerc, the
cours Genet and the
rocade ouest (bypass), contains a
lycée, the former seminary, the Yvon Chevalier stadium and a shopping mall. The water tower of Recouvrance is decorated with frescoes by contemporary artist Michel Genty. In the north of the urban area, the Saint-Vivien neighbourhood has an old faubourg (exurb) which has been inhabited since antiquity. Here, the
thermes de Saint-Saloine, ancient Roman baths, are found. The importance of this railway network is explained by the designation of Saintes as the seat of the Compagnie des chemins de fer des Charentes in 1867, then as the regional seat of the VIIIth arrondissement of the Chemins de fer de l'État from 1911 to 1971. The
SNCF is still a major employer in the city, and new depots and workshops were opened in 2009 and 2010. ==Population==