Fort la Latte

Fort la Latte, properly the Chateau de la Roche Goyon, stands on a promontory separated from the mainland by two natural clefts, each crossed by a drawbridge, with the sea below on three sides; the position is the defence. It was begun in the fourteenth century and remodelled under Vauban's influence in the seventeenth, when the cannonball oven was added, a furnace for heating shot red before firing it at wooden ships. The keep is climbed for a view along the Emerald Coast to Cap Frehel. Its silhouette made it a film location, notably for The Vikings in 1958.

What you actually see

• The two drawbridges - crossings over natural clefts to the castle rock.
• The cannonball oven - a furnace for heating shot before firing.
• The keep - climbed for views along the coast to Cap Frehel.
• The sea setting - water on three sides below the walls.

When to go

April to October; the fort closes or reduces hours in winter. The walk in from the car park takes about ten minutes across the heath. Wind on the walls is strong.

Honest expectations

The approach is a walk from a paid car park, not a drive to the gate. Interiors are limited and largely bare. The site is exposed and unsheltered in bad weather.

Nearby

Cap Frehel lies west; Saint-Malo is east.