Fort Boyard

The Fort Boyard is a fort located between the island of Aix and Oléron Island, in the department of Charente-Maritime. It was built originally to protect the harbor from the British navy of the seventeenth century. The Fort Boyard is an integral part of the Maritime Arsenal of Rochefort, which extends throughout the estuary of the Charente. Today it is a property of the General Council of Charente-Maritime.

The fort is 61 meters long and 31 meters wide. The walls rising to 20 meters. It is built on a sandbank called loin Boyard who gave his name to the fort. It is visible from Fouras from the bridge connecting the island of Oleron in the continent (south of the island), but also from the lighthouse Chassiron in good weather (extreme north of the island). Each summer, a fireworks display is derived, which can be seen from all beaches in the area. This firework contains thousands of explosives and lasts about thirty minutes.