Arvert () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Alvertons or Alvertonnes.
Geography
Arvert is located some 14 km north-west of Royan and 8 km south of Marennes in the heart of the Peninsula of Arvert and the Royannnais Natural Region in the continental section of the Côte de Beauté and near the famous Marennes-Oléron Oyster basin between the Seudre, Gironde, and the Atlantic Ocean. There are two oyster ports in the commune: Coux and Grève à Duret.
The commune is the centre of a conurbation comprising La Tremblade (the main urban centre), Étaules, and Chaillevette and could be considered part of the outlying "suburbs" of Royan which is the main urban centre and economic hub of the area. Administratively it is part of the canton of La Tremblade and the arrondissement of Rochefort.
Access to the commune is by the D14 main road running north-west to south-east connecting La Tremblade to Saujon and passing north-west of the town. Access to the town is by the D14E1 road from La Tremblade through the town to Étaules. The D141 also connects the town to the D14 and continues south-west to Les Mathes. The D25 starts in the commune and bypasses La Tremblade to the north and continues to Ronce-les-Bains. The D268 branches of the D25 in the commune and goes west to the beaches on the west coast.
As a significant economic and tourism centre, Arvert is located close to several large urban centres: Royan (14.7 km SE), Rochefort (30 km NE), and Saintes (38 km E). To a lesser extent, La Rochelle (47 km N) and Bordeaux (110 km SSE) are large regional cities whose influence remains strong. Arvert is also close to many small centres of lesser importance: Étaules (2 km SE) and La Tremblade (3 km NW), which form a single urban area; Breuillet (8 km SE), Marennes (10 km N), and Bourcefranc-le-Chapus (12 km N) near the island of Oléron.
Arvert with the rest of the department belongs to the Southern France area - or more specifically "South Atlantic". The commune also lies within two major geographical areas: the Grand-Ouest and the Grand South-West. Arvert has an area of 2,622 hectares consisting largely of agricultural land, forests (the edge of the Forest of la Coubre) and reclaimed land (the city centre and the main villages of Piochet, Maine-Amouroux, Dirée, Villeneuve, le Boudignon, Avallon, and the oyster ports of Coux and Grève à Duret). The eastern part of the commune directly borders the Seudre estuary and is made up of oyster farms within the famous Marennes-Oléron basin. The countryside consists of humid green meadows and extensive gray-blue mudflats (the Seudre marshes) highlighted by golden lines of reeds, hedges, and aquatic plants with, in line of sight, the Marennes steeple forming a landmark.
The commune has a low relief, being formed of a Cretaceous plateau with a slightly wavy border against the Seudre marshlands. It is partially dry (Pré des Landes is a relic of the former Gulf of Arvert which became the Barbareu Pond in the Middle Ages) drained by small rivers (Le Grand Ecours). The highest point of the commune barely exceeds 25 metres. The plateau rises to 12 metres at Martichou, 17 metres in front of the church, 20 metres at Maine-Amouroux, and 22 metres near the school.