The village lies about 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Royan, on a small promontory which dominates the Gironde estuary.

Inland there is marshy country and a small waterway runs alongside the south wall of the village.

The church was a resting place for the Pilgrimage of Saint James of Compostela on the via Turonensis, because the pilgrims crossed the Gironde at this spot (Voie de Soulac Littoral Aquitain).

The enclosed and fortified village was founded around the church in 1284, according to the plans of the ancient bastides, on the orders of Edward I of England.

During the Hundred Years' War which divided England and France, Talmont became a strategic stake.