Fort Boyard

Fort Boyard is an oval sea fortress sitting on the Boyard Bank between Île d'Oléron and Île d'Aix, one of the most distinctive structures on the French Atlantic coast. Its yellow stone walls rise directly from the water with no surrounding shore, giving it an otherworldly appearance — a medieval castle floating in the sea. The fort is clearly visible from the Boyardville harbour on the island's eastern coast.

The fort is not open to independent visitors — access is strictly controlled and currently limited to the television production that uses it each summer. But the view from Boyardville or from a passing boat is dramatic, and several operators run boat tours past the fort in summer. The best view is from the sea itself, and a guided boat trip from Boyardville or La Rochelle is the standard way to see it up close.

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Construction of Fort Boyard began under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801 to protect the Rochefort arsenal from British naval attack. It took over 50 years to complete — engineers initially found it impossible to build on the shifting sandbank — and was finished in 1857, by which time naval warfare had moved well beyond cannon range and the fort was already obsolete. It served as a prison for a while, then was abandoned. Since 1990, it has been the set for the French television game show Fort Boyard, watched by millions across Europe.