In your sightseeing trip to La Rochelle, western France, you may be curious to see one of the famous fortresses that were once built to protect Rochefort, a city that housed the General Headquarters of the French Armed Forces.
Although most of these fortresses were built by the engineer Vauban, during the 17th century, in the time of Louis XIV, perhaps the most famous is Fort Boyard. Planned at the same time, it was not built until the time of Napoleon, finally becoming a prison.
Fort Boyard It has acquired greater fame than the other fortifications due to its characteristic location, on the sea, between the islands of Aix y Oléron, so that with its oval structure it looks like a boat. This location is due to the objective of defending the entrance to Rochefort, placing artillery between both islands.
The construction of Fort Boyard is what led to the creation of Boyardville in the Oléron island, a small town with a port, where the fortification workers resided.
Now Boyardville It is a charming port from which excursions to see Fort Boyard depart. Of course, you will only be able to navigate around the curious fortification since it currently belongs to a television production company, and has been used to produce a popular reality show.
There are several companies that in the Boyardville Harbor They offer you boat excursions to navigate around Fort Boyard and the nearby Aix island.
But you can also give this excursion another attraction, such as doing it in a sailboat, The Marcelle. Built in 1936, and 11 meters long, it was once a lifeboat of the first Queen Elizabeth.
The boat will wait for you near the shore of Boyardville Beach, and you will arrive there by inflatable boat.
The Fort Boyard tour prices, with a duration of an hour and a half, is 25 euros for adults and 15 euros for children. If you prefer to take a joint excursion around Fort Boyard and the island of Aix, it will cost you 40 euros (25 euros for children).
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