Until the beginning of the 20th century, the coast of the Massif des Maures, where the municipality of Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer today extends, was almost uninhabited and particularly difficult to access. Its tourist vocation developed from 1890 with the opening of the Provence Railways' Var coastal line linking Toulon to Saint-Raphaël along the coast of the massif. More than 740 acres (300 ha) of the southern slopes of the seafront hills of the municipality of La Môle were first developed into a seaside and climatic resort in 1925. The autonomous locality of Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer was later created by prefectural decree on August 30, 1949.