Site ostréicole et naturel de Fort-Royer
Dates & opening times
Les visites et animations se font uniquement sur réservation au 05 46 47 06 48
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Promotional offers
Une pause hors du temps pour découvrir Oléron, ses métiers traditionnels, ses patrimoines ancestraux et les saveurs authentiques de nos chers mollusques nacrés !
Sustainable tourism
Le village de Fort-Royer est inclus dans le périmètre de la réserve naturelle des marais de Moëze-Oléron. L'association est très attentive à la sauvegarde, la valorisation et la protection de l'environnement.
Services for cyclists
Cabane ouverte pour pique-niquer à l’abri, station de gonflage et de réparation pour les vélos, tables et bancs pour se reposer… Halte gratuite !
Tips for the photographer
Des lumières incomparables, une flore et une faune à portée d’objectif (reposoir très prisé pour des milliers d’oiseaux migrateurs)
Services for children
Ateliers de découverte dédiés aux 6 12 ans, tarifs réduits pour toutes les animations, petits coins « lecture et dessin » pour les enfants…
New for 2025
Dégustation découverte Animations exceptionnelles chaque mois
History, culture and heritage
Un village ostréicole traditionnel et authentique Un patrimoine ostréicole unique et protégé Un patrimoine naturel exceptionnel et protégé
Label "Vineyards and Discoveries"
Site labellisé "Vignobles et Découvertes": dégustation d’huîtres et de produits régionaux accompagnée de vin ou de limonade d’Oléron (uniquement dans le cadre des animations)
Descriptif
Experience the oyster-farming adventure! Discover an exceptional natural environment! Explore Oléron and the surrounding area!
Some forty colorful oyster huts planted on a coastline of incredible beauty opposite oyster beds and bouchots... A vast mudflat carpeted with bold plants, encircled by luminous dune belts... A parade of thousands of birds, emblems of exceptional flora and fauna... A unique estate, built in the midst of oyster beds and channels shaped by generations of sea farmers...
farmers of the sea... Are you there yet? Welcome to Fort-Royer, a small, authentic and traditional oyster-farming village, hidden away in the heart of a splendid nature reserve!
For 34 years, our association has been preserving the site and its nature, rebuilding the oyster-farming heritage to its original state, and promoting and animating these places where everything is a pretext for discovery, so that authentic oyster farming and the last craftsmen of the natural oyster live on.
You can visit the site following a guide who will show you all about oyster farming, from yesterday's traditions to today's craft, from breeding in the oyster beds, to maturing in the oyster beds, to working in the huts. Fort-Royer is a working oyster farm that defends the natural oyster and puts a capital letter on the letters of nobility of refining.
On the program:
Oyster farming in the village of Fort-Royer: choose the formula that suits you best!
1h discovery tasting or 1h guided tour or 2h guided tour
Discovery tasting 1h :
A short visit to discover oysters and oyster farming in the Marennes-Oléron Basin, ending with an oyster snack.
SHORT TOUR + 3-ODSTER TASTE: 1h SINGLE RATE: €7
Spring vacations (all zones), May, June and summer vacations: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 11 a.m.
Oyster farm guided tour 1h
Natural oysters and traditional oyster farming at Fort-Royer. In the heart of the village, run by 9 professionals, we tell you all about the natural oyster, this curious animal and its funny history, and then about the work of the peasants of the sea: the birth of oysters by chance, breeding in the beds, the work of the women in the hut, traditional maturing in the oyster beds... Discover our hut-museum and an oyster farming film dating back to 1907.
TOUR DURATION: 1h (BY RESERVATION) TOUR RATES: 6€/5€*
Winter, autumn (all zones) and September vacations: Tuesday to Friday at 3pm
Spring vacations (all zones), May and June: Tuesday to Friday at 5pm
Summer vacations: Mondays and Thursdays at 3pm and 5pm - Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10am, 3pm and 5pm
Rest of the year: Tuesdays and Fridays at 3pm
Closed from mid-November to early February
Oyster farm guided tour (2h)
La Verte Marennes-Oléron and its unique merroir. Let us tell you about the great history of the oyster, from prehistoric man to the royal table, then to fishing on foot, heritage oyster-farming traditions and today's standards... Immerse yourself in the daily life of the peasants of the sea: oysters are born by chance, reared in the oyster beds, the work of the women in the huts, and traditional maturing in the oyster beds. Discover our 5-star oyster palaces, their culture broth and their precious vase, the mother of authentic marsh flavors: we'll give you the recipes for our Fines and Spéciales de claire! Visit our museum shack, a professional oyster washing platform and a 1907 oyster film.
TOUR DURATION: 2h (BY RESERVATION) TOUR RATES: €8/€7*
School vacations (all zones), May, June and September: Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.
Tasting of oysters or regional products
The association offers 2 tasting plates for events only:
- Assiette de Fort-Royer: €6.50 (6 fine natural oysters, lemon)
- Assiette douceur: 6.50 € (buttery olive cake, crunchy almonds and caramels with fleur de sel)
If you'd like to try your hand at oysters, or if you're just feeling greedy, opt for our oyster snack: 4 € (3 fine, natural oysters, lemon)
Each plate is served with a glass of white wine or artisanal lemonade from Oléron.
Play and learn" vacation activities
While the grown-ups visit, the younger ones have fun discovering!
Discovery workshop "P'tit scientifique": Let's explore the oyster farm, the oyster, its life, its beating heart and its organs, then oyster farming.
With a lot of courage, let's taste the plants of the salt marsh, go in search of other shellfish, seabirds or observe microscopic life... Each explorer will create an educational "souvenir": shell key-ring, magnet, herbarium or work of art made of sea leash...
DURATION: 1h SINGLE RATE: €5/child
WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN aged 6 to 12 ONLY.
While the grown-ups enjoy their visit, the younger ones can take part in this workshop with an animator, just for them!
School vacations (all zones): at the same time as afternoon guided tours.
Fauna and flora at Fort-Royer
A very "natural" walk
A sensory exploration of coastal flora. Indispensable, rare, delicious or medicinal, the plants tell their own story... Stop off at the observatory, where binoculars and spotting scopes invite you to watch the parade of seabirds and marsh birds!
VISIT DURATION: 2h VISIT RATES: €8/€7*
School vacations (all zones), May, June and September: Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m.
Fort-Royer an adventure playground
Treasure hunt to devour
Embark on a fun-filled adventure that appeals to all 5 senses!
You've got 2h30, watch in hand, to complete 1 to 9 loops! Orientation, riddles, mysteries, sensory challenges, clue-finding, souvenir-making... Are you ready? Oyster farming, fauna, flora, heritage, the ROYA witch's lair... Treasure hunts! Explorer's Treasure and Pirate Shipwreck at Fort-Royer! Set off in search of Fort-Royer's lost treasure among the huts, sea and forest, armed with a map and a booklet including questions, memory games, riddles and rebuses. Points to locate, riddles to solve and clues to collect to get closer to the goal.
Game punctuated by 2 tastings of regional products (Fort-Royer natural oysters or fish terrines on seaweed shortbread / galette oléronaise with butter and fleur de sel caramels).
DURATION: 2h-3h RATES: 10€/8€*
During school vacations (all zones), May, June and September: Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.
Living with the sea on Oléron
Hike between sea and forest, to the bouchots facing Fort Boyard: Cross the historic Saumonards forest to discover its flora, fauna and the trade of the gemmakers. Understand the formation of the dunes, an essential but fragile natural bulwark against winter storms. Stroll along the beach, meet its inhabitants, including the most discreet, and identify the treasures left behind in the seawater, like so many clues to extraordinary marine life. End the tour at the foot of the bouchots (mussel beds) to learn more about mussel farming, under the enigmatic eye of Fort Boyard, with the silhouette of La Rochelle in the distance. Walking, pinewoods, iodine and warm sand: a breath of fresh air with very natural benefits.
Or
Hike along the rocky coast: extraordinary animals, precious seaweed, old trades and legends During low tide, the rocks reveal their treasures, a discovery of "casses en crasses" full of surprises Seaweed, crustaceans, anemones, starfish,
sponges, slugs, shells... a veritable living spectacle suspended between two tides, a playful and responsible approach to a fabulous and mysterious ecosystem, an open-air aquarium! Discover the history of algae and mankind: the collection of Brown Gold and the surprising uses of these strange plants since prehistoric times. Listen to the legends and promises of this hostile yet nourishing coast! A whole history! For the more curious: an impromptu tasting of fresh seaweed on the rocks as you watch the sea rise.
TOUR DURATION: 2h TOUR RATES: €8/€7*
DATES AND TIMETABLE: School vacations (all zones), May, June and September: Thursday or Friday at
9:30 a.m. (tour selected by our team according to tides)
La Cotinière, a fishing port and sailors
Man-eater and soul-eater, a job told by a fisherman's wife.
Guided tour of the fishing port of La Cotinière, ranked 7th in France and 1st in Charente-Maritime. Dive into the heart of this ancestral profession: the history of the port (from the natural shelter 200 years ago, to the third "deep-water" basin, fishing (oars, sails then motors, hemp nets to selective trawls). Discover the fleet of around 100 boats and 300 sailors; the difficulties and dangers of seafaring occupations; fishing techniques (trawls and pots, lines and nets); selectivity, species and regulations. La Cotinarde, doyenne septuagénaire, the 20-meter-long L'Outsider, lifeboats (from L'Étoile de la Mer to L'Étoile Cotinarde), this walk will also take you into the daily lives of sailors, fishmongers and lifeguards... Come and meet these salty faces, ashore between two tides.
DURATION: 2h RATES: €8/€7*
Fridays at 9:30 am or 2:30 pm - Departure: La Cotinière chapel forecourt
New for 2025: Monthly special events
Every month, our team organizes a special event in addition to the regular program. Creative and educational children's activities, evening discovery tastings, themed family treasure hunts....
February 18: Children's workshop, oyster salt dough 2pm to 5pm snack offered
March 6: Children's workshop, mobile and shells 14h to 17h snack offered
April 19: Family Easter treasure hunt 9:30am to 12pm
May 1: 10 a.m. Storytelling stroll for grown-ups, special 2-hour children's workshop
+ 12pm photo competition results and afternoon snack!
June 20: Discovery tasting at 6:30pm with a selection of 6 oysters from our producers
July 14: Discovery tasting at 6:30pm with a selection of 6 oysters from our producers
August 15: Discovery tasting at 6:30pm with a selection of 6 oysters from our producers
September 12: Discovery tasting at 6:30pm with a selection of 6 oysters from our producers
October 21: Children's workshop, salt dough and shells 2pm to 5pm snack offered
November 2: Family Halloween treasure hunt 2pm to 5pm
SINGLE ADMISSION: €10
ALL VISITS AND EVENTS MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE
05 46 47 06 48
Media files
Tracking
Site ostréicole et naturel de Fort-Royer Allée de Fort-RoyerFort-Royer, BP 43 - La Perrotine ( à côté de Boyardville)17310, Saint-Pierre-d'OléronFrance
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