Fort Boyard

Want to get up close and personal with this fort, known the world over thanks to a TV game show? Then set course for Fort Boyard, but before you embark, here's a brief historical overview of France's most famous fort.

Built to guard the mouth of the Charente and protect Rochefort's arsenal, this enormous stone vessel, which was to house a garrison of 260 men and 74 cannons on 3 levels, became obsolete before it was completed in 1859, when advances in artillery rendered it completely useless. After several years of abandonment, a use had to be found for the fort, which had cost nearly 8 million francs - an astronomical sum at the time! It became a military prison in 1870, and was finally abandoned by the French Navy in 1913. Classified as a historical monument in 1950 and bought by a Belgian dentist, Fort Boyard appeared in several films: «Le repos du guerrier» with Brigitte Bardot, «Les aventuriers» with Alain Delon and Lino Ventura... These appearances marked the beginning of Fort Boyard's fame not only in France, but all over the world! In the 90s, the filming of the «Fort Boyard» game show brought this marvel to the islands of Aix and Oléron. Fort Boyard, with its foreign versions, became the most famous fort in the world!