Fort du Pradeau Museum

Port-Cros National Park' highlights

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The riches of a land revealed

After 40 years of dormancy, the Pradeau battery (known as the Fondue tower) has been reborn as a formidable interpretation center for the territory of the Port-Cros National Park. The colossal renovation work has created a new exhibition space, magnificently fitted out with modern, playful areas such as the cabinet of curiosities, the exhibition rooms and their digital immersion proposal, the store and the panoramic belvedere. Located at the very tip of the Giens peninsula, the museum celebrates the history and nature of the national park’s sites.

5 good reasons to visit

Experience digital immersion in the video room
Explore Port-Cros National Park’ treasure
Get the kids involved in fun workshops
Contemplate the fabulous view from the terrace
Walk around Port Auguier and the Esterel Cap

Modern and playful

At Fort du Pradeau, a giant educational game of goose and 360° virtual reality helmets are a highlight of your visit and a delight for children. To discover the incredible biodiversity of the area protected by the national park, video, sound, olfactory and sensory installations offer total immersion.

At the entrance to the museum, the heart of the national park and its adjacent protected area are presented to you.

Our advice

Book your tickets online for a guided or self-guided tour of the Fort du Pradeau museum . In summer, a snorkeling tour of the underwater trail adjacent to the museum is organized.

Some history…

In the 16th century, Fort du Pradeau protected the Hyères roadstead from enemy ships. Backed by the nearby fortifications of Langoustier and Ribaud, it was one of the ramparts in the maritime defense system stretching from Hyères to Toulon. Its imposing silhouette remains from this military past, and is now home to the Port-Cros National Park. The defensive bastion has become an ambassador for the region’s flora and fauna, promoting environmental protection in an educational way.

Maritime defense forts, by definition, offer strategic and, in the case of Fort du Pradeau, panoramic views. Don’t miss the view from the terrace of the Langoustier, the Grand Ribaud, the Porquerolles hills…all the way to Cap Bénat. Grandiose.

Relive the key stages in the creation of France’s first national marine park

A showroom for discovering the region and its environmental challenges.

Permanent exhibition

Take a guided tour of the fort’s various rooms and discover 400 years of history. Submerged heritage, hidden sites, know-how, human memories: the tour “makes the invisible visible”. Lift the caps to smell the Aleppo pine. Trigger your auditory immersion by listening to the distinctive call of the shearwater, that extraordinary bird. Enter the 180° immersive room and penetrate the Port-Cros scrubland or dive beneath the passage of a sperm whale.

Your senses are awakened. Touch the light tables that illuminate the underwater canyons to explain the presence of dolphins and whales in the park. Spin the informative rollers of the mineral compositions, listen to the clicks of the fin whales and watch every detail on video. Let the unspoilt nature of our territory dazzle you.

You’re in Captain Nemo’s boat, and dolphins come to greet you through the porthole.

Focus on

Giens peninsula

Fort du Pradeau is located at the very end of the Giens peninsula, a natural gem facing the island of Porquerolles. The coves sheltered from the wind, the coastal path and the small village where art is everywhere will charm you immediately.

Giens, its peninsula and double tombolo offer a panoramic view of our territory. Its paths take in views of the open sea, the Toulon harbor and the Provence-Mediterranean mountains. An enchanting, unspoilt setting, Giens is a fragile paradise not to be missed.

VISIT GIENS