Take advantage of your camping holidays on the island of Oleron to make a childhood dream come true: discover Fort Boyard! From the port of Saint-Denis d’Oléron or Boyardville, treat yourself to an unforgettable cruise and contemplate the colossus of the sea from every angle. This is a guaranteed delight for young and old alike!
Unfortunately, Fort Boyard cannot be visited, at least not from the inside… However, you can sail in the Pertuis d’Antioche and get up close to the impressive walls of the fort. From April to the end of September, the Inter-Iles company offers various options for admiring Fort Boyard from the sea: a short one-hour stroll, a cruise with a guided approach to the Fort and a day’s stopover on the Isle of Aix or La Rochelle, a walk with a tour of Fort Boyard and the Isle of Aix… If you have your sea legs, you will be spoilt for choice!
From the campsite Airotel Les Embruns d’Oléron, you just have to go to the port of Saint-Denis d’Oléron or Boyardville / Saint-Georges d’Oléron :
– Ticket office in Boyardville: on the port car park (behind the market)
– Ticket office in St-Denis d’Oléron: next to the Harbour Master’s Office (departures in July and August only)
In the 17th century, Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, planned to build a fortress on the sea to reinforce the defences of the harbour of the island of Aix and the arsenal of Rochefort. Faced with the magnitude of the task, the project was constantly postponed and even the great Vauban remained totally baffled by this pharaonic challenge.
It was only at the beginning of the 19th century that the idea resurfaced under the impetus of Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul. Work began in 1804 and was completed in 1857 under the reign of Louis-Philippe. Ironically, due to the progress of artillery allowing crossfire between Oleron and Aix, Fort Boyard quickly became obsolete. The people of Charente called it the “fort of the useless”.
After a few years of service, it was finally transformed into a prison, notably for the communards and prisoners on their way to the prisons of New Caledonia… At the beginning of the 20th century, it fell into disrepair and became the object of covetousness of many looters (bronzes, cannons, pieces of wood and framework, doors, windows, shutters… everything!)
At the end of the 1960s, it was used as a backdrop for several films before finally becoming famous in 1990 thanks to the broadcasting of the famous game show, which is now exported to some thirty countries. A nice revenge for the “fort of the useless”!
2,400 m: distance between the fort and the island of Oléron
68 m long
31 m wide
20 m high
30 years of work (cumulative duration)
160,000 m3 (total volume of the building)
80,000 m3 of cut stone extracted from the Crazannes quarries
“Les embruns d’Oléron” campsite is part of the Airotel group of high-end campsites. Airotel campsites remain independent and are all driven by the search for excellence in outdoor accommodation in Charente Maritime and in France.
“Les embruns d’Oléron” campsite has won you over and you are looking for a campsite that takes the same care with its services and its welcome. Our 4-star campsite on the Basque coast will seduce you for your next vacation in the South West. Visit the OYAM campsite site in Bidart (64).
