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Castles

Fort d'Ambleteuse (Fort Vauban)

Castles

Fort d'Ambleteuse (Fort Vauban)

Recommended by 45 road cyclists out of 47

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Parc naturel régional des Caps et marais d'Opale

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Location: Ambleteuse, Boulogne-Sur-Mer, Hauts-De-France, France

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Best Road Cycling Rides to Fort d'Ambleteuse (Fort Vauban)

4.5

(13)

247

riders

1. From Wimereux to Cap Blanc-Nez — loop in the Parc naturel régional des caps et marais d'Opale

54.9km

02:31

610m

Intermediate road ride. Good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride.

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Intermediate

4.8

(4)

riders

2. Boulogne-sur-Mer — loop in the Pré communal d'Ambleteuse nature reserve

27.9km

01:17

300m

Easy road ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride.

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Easy

4.6

(5)

153

riders

3. Pointe aux Oies – Plage de Wissant loop from Les Fontinettes

86.9km

03:58

890m

Intermediate road ride. Good fitness required. Some segments of this route may be unpaved and difficult to ride.

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Intermediate

Tips

Pedaleur de Gand

June 2, 2019

A beautiful fort at the coast. Some nice bars closeby to enjoy the view of the fort and the sea.

Fabrice Rigalleau

May 22, 2023

At low tide, he watches over Ambleteuse beach and Slack bay. At high tide the Fort is surrounded by the sea, and on stormy days it is literally besieged and attacked by the waves.
It was in 1680 that Louis XIV, passing through Boulogne-sur-Mer, discovered Ambleteuse (Pas-de-Calais) and decided to make it a military port. It is rightly called the “Fort d’Ambleteuse” or “Fort Vauban”, but also the “Tour d’Ambleteuse” and sometimes, wrongly, the “Fort Mahon”. Built from 1682 to 1690 on the plans drawn up, as we suspect, by Vauban, the fort was built on a rocky peak, to protect the construction site of the war port decided two years earlier by Louis XIV and located at the mouth from Slack.
The project was abandoned in 1688, due to the silting up of the port and the strong currents that the vessels had to face to enter it. Ambleteuse fell back into oblivion until 1798, when Bonaparte studied a plan to land in England. Napoleon I had the Slack estuary modified and piers, quays and a seafront dike were dug and built.
Fort Vauban was restored and rearmed in 1803. General Legrand, commanding the 3rd infantry division, remained there until March 1805.
In 1854, Ambleteuse served as a camp for the army of Napoleon III.
The German army reused it and installed artillery casemates on the fort during the Second World War. Abandoned and vandalized, it was finally classified as a historic monument in 1965. An association, made up of enthusiasts, purchased the building for the symbolic franc in 1967, when the fort was on the verge of ruin. Since then, the association has restored the rampart, the roof covering, the interior fittings and the annexed buildings. It has since been visitable.

Translated by Google •

Moritz Kunze

July 14, 2023

From 01/07/2023 to 31/08/2023 open on Saturdays, Sundays between 2:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

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Elevation 10 m

Weather

Friday 17 October

15°C

10°C

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Max wind speed: 8.0 km/h

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Location: Ambleteuse, Boulogne-Sur-Mer, Hauts-De-France, France

Fort d'Ambleteuse (Fort Vauban)

1. From Wimereux to Cap Blanc-Nez — loop in the Parc naturel régional des caps et marais d'Opale

2. Boulogne-sur-Mer — loop in the Pré communal d'Ambleteuse nature reserve

3. Pointe aux Oies – Plage de Wissant loop from Les Fontinettes

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