20.3 km

1h 30min

Easy

Advancing towards the ocean, the peninsula was a defensive point of the Charente estuary. From this privileged maritime location, it has been able to draw other advantages which today make it a renowned site for seaside, oyster and natural farming.

Difference in height

93.46 m
Documentation
- GPX Trace
- KML File
GPX / KML files allow you to export the trail of your hike to your GPS (or other navigation tool)

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Points of interest

1 Vauban fort or semaphore

2 Les Salons du Parc

3 The Aiguille redoubt

4 The northern beach and the seaside villas

1 Vauban fort or semaphore

As early as the 11th century, the castle of Fouras was erected to control the Charente estuary and to institute a toll. The creation of the Rochefort Arsenal in 1666 made it a key part of the defence system for the approaches to the Charente, whose entry it prohibited. At the end of the 17th century, François Ferry, King Louis XIV's engineer, transformed the former feudal residence into a "fort at sea". Today it is a listed building and houses a museum of regional history.

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Regional Museum of Fort Vauban

MUSEUM

Fouras

2 Les Salons du Parc

Located in the Bois Vert and built in 1870, this house was used as a convalescent home for the war wounded between 1914 and 1916. Bought by the municipality in 1946, the building became a famous hotel before it was closed in 1975.
Today, it is a seminar and festival centre.

rochefort-ocean-fouras-bois-vert © Marie Francoise Boufflet.jpg

3 The Aiguille redoubt

This fort was built in the second half of the 17th century. Its purpose was to protect against a possible attack by enemy ships. Today it is a listed monument and belongs to the municipality of Fouras.

4 The northern beach and the seaside villas

Since 1850, Fouras has been famous for its sea baths. They are taken directly in the ocean or inside thermal establishments. The seaside villas and small holiday homes bear witness to this craze, encouraged by the installation of a casino and the arrival of the railway in 1882.