Port du Château-d'Oléron

Originally located to the west of the Porte des Pêcheurs, the port was a simple, unprotected beaching.

From 1790, a new port was built to the south of the citadel, in the ditch of the counter-guard, and from the 19th century onwards, it became a very active oyster, commercial and passenger port.



Today, it remains an important transit center for oysters, the commune being a major component of the Marennes-Oléron basin. Numerous refining and greening oyster beds have been built on the site of former salt marshes. More than 100 companies now make their living from this activity.



On state concessions, oyster huts have sprung up along the marsh channels and the citadel's southern moat.

Oysters are now shipped from the marshes, which are owned by the oyster farmers, and today, with the support of the town, most of these old shacks have been restored to serve as workshops for artists and craftspeople, who exhibit their work there.

The huts are open all year round, providing a permanent hub of artistic and tourist activity.