Zoo La Palmyre - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The famous Cordouan Lighthouse, built between 1584 and 1611, is the oldest working lighthouse in France. It was located in the middle of the sea, at the mouth of the Gironde estuary. It stands 67.5 metres tall and has six storeys in the Renaissance style. It is the only lighthouse at the sea on the coast of France still guarded, the oldest still in activity and the only one in the world open to the visit.

Île Madame is an island in the River Charente estuary on the Atlantic coast of France joined to the mainland by a causeway. The island has an area of four square miles and is unpopulated. It is only accessible at low tide, preferably on foot and by bicycle. It is a fragile space that must be respected and protected. On the highest point of the island, there is a fort built in the 17tyh century.

The Corderie Royale, built between 1666 and 1669, provided ropes for the French Navy and its ships for over three centuries. First industrial building in Rochefort, it will not withstand the appearance of steel cables and in 1862, the production of rope is ceased. Reassigned to many uses, it will definitely close its doors at the same time as the closing of the Naval Dockyard of Rochefort in 1927.

A majestic fort which was located between the Île-d'Aix and the Île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche straits. the construction of the fort is decided because of the need to lock the passage between Aix Island and Oléron Island. The building started in 1801 and was completed in 1857. It was one of the unique forts in this area and it has a lot of history to say.

The island of Aix is an island in the southwest of France. Bathed by the Bay of Biscay, it is located 3.1 km west-north-west of Pointe de la Fumée, on the Charente coast. Being part of the Charente archipelago, it is also one of the fifteen islands of Ponant. It is located west of the bay of Yves, between the island of Oléron and the town of Fouras, at the northern end of the Charente estuary. To the north of the island is the Antioch sluice.

The Chassiron lighthouse, perched on a rocky cliff, is located at the northern end of the island of Oléron, near the town of Saint-Denis-d'Oléron . The lighthouse allows sailors to enter the waters of the Antioch sluice, a place strewn with reefs and famous for its many shipwrecks. It is the oldest lighthouse in France still inactivity after that of Cordouan.