What to see

The Fort at Flamands - to the east of Cherbourg’s main port area at Tourlaville - was built in 1850 and was originally constructed to protect the south east side of the port as well as being a gunpowder depot for the French Navy.
Using granite from nearby Fermanville, the trapezoidal-shaped fort comprised of a central courtyard and powder magazines with over 50 fighting positions on its fortified walls. Created to keep the English out of Cherbourg, it was built upon reclaimed land and connected to the mainline via a long, narrow breakwater.
Further defences were constructed in 1855, but it wasn’t until the mid-1920’s and the development of the deep-water port at Cherbourg that the site saw further changes. The construction of the Flamands breakwater and new basins saw the western flank of the fortification become enveloped by the new builds.
Following the occupation of France by Germany in 1940, deep water ports like Cherbourg became defensive fortresses and the entire coast and port area was heavily fortified.
For Fort des Flamands, that saw the installation of an anti-aircraft gun batterie with two 20mm AA gun posts and a 40mm AA gun position on top of the fortified walls. There was also an emplacement for a150cm searchlight.
Cherbourg was liberated by Allied forces in July 1944 and the fort was returned to the French Navy. At the end of the 1970s the fort completely lost its maritime status as the land surrounding it was reclaimed and developed as part of the expanding port.
Although disused since the end of the war, the fort remained under French Navy control until 2007 when it was handed to the port authority.
Only three sides of the fort remain today, and it now stands surrounded by heavy-duty port developments and giant warehouses and industrial units. A secure site, it cannot be accessed without permission.