Fort Balaguier

Fort Balaguier stands on a headland at La Seyne-sur-Mer, on the western side of the roadstead of Toulon, facing the naval city across the water, and its history is tied to the defence of the great naval base. It was built between 1634 and 1636 on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister of Louis XIII, to guard the entrance to the inner harbour, together with a fort on the opposite shore. The walls are exceptionally thick, nearly four metres in places, and the fort was strengthened in the following decades under the direction of Vauban, who reinforced the defences of Toulon. It has been protected as a historic monument since 1973.

The fort has a place in the story of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1793, Toulon had been handed over to British and Spanish fleets by royalist rebels, and the republican army besieged the city. The young artillery officer Bonaparte, then a captain, took part in the operations and urged an attack on the batteries guarding the roadstead. Fort Balaguier fell to the republican forces in December 1793, together with the larger Fort de l'Éguillette across the water, which opened the way to the recapture of the town and was the start of Napoleon's rise.

Since 1970 the fort has been used as a museum. It was long devoted to local maritime history, the navy and the history of the penal colonies of Toulon, the bagne, where convicts were held and made to work in the arsenal from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. In recent years its focus has moved toward the sea itself. The former chapel now houses a virtual-reality experience built around the reconstruction of a shipwreck in the Mediterranean, an immersive way of understanding underwater archaeology, and other displays use films and interactive terminals to show the sea and the efforts to protect it. The thick vaulted rooms and ramparts remain as they were, so a visit combines military architecture with modern technology.

Outside, the grounds around the fort are laid out as a Mediterranean garden of plants suited to the dry climate, with paths that lead along the walls and to terraces looking across the bay. The view over the Petite Rade of Toulon, with grey warships, ferries and cargo vessels coming and going, and the hills behind the city, is one of the great pleasures of the visit.

The fort is open from Tuesday to Sunday, with a lunch break and longer hours in July, and a small entrance fee, with extra charges for photography. It is located on the Corniche Bonaparte in La Seyne-sur-Mer, and it is reached by bus from the area or by the shuttle boats across the bay from Toulon in season. A visit takes about an hour and a half. In Toulon, the Port, the Promenade du Mourillon, the Marché de Toulon and the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire are good complements. The fort suits families, history lovers and anyone who likes sea views.