{"id":22478,"date":"2026-04-02T14:32:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/bonnes-pratiques\/lorient-france-a-submarine-base-redeveloped-as-a-sailing-cluster\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T13:44:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T11:44:58","slug":"lorient-france-a-submarine-base-redeveloped-as-a-sailing-cluster","status":"publish","type":"bonnes-pratiques","link":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/lorient-france-a-submarine-base-redeveloped-as-a-sailing-cluster\/","title":{"rendered":"Lorient (France): A submarine base redeveloped as a sailing cluster"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over the past decades,&nbsp;Lorient has seen far-reaching changes to its maritime activity after the French Navy abandoned many spaces and the submarine base in 1995.&nbsp;The submarine base opened in 1940, and the German army used it during the war. After that, it was occupied by the French army, who used the space until 1977. The place stayed abandoned until the beginning of 2000, when a decision was made&nbsp;to convert the 24-hectare site in the heart of the port city, as part of a strategy focused on promoting sailing, tourism, and the local heritage to drive economic development. The site redevelopment of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lorient-agglo.bzh\/a-vivre\/nautisme-et-plaisance\/lorient-la-base\/\">La Base<\/a>&#8221; (The Base) started with a market research study carried out in 2001, looking at the potential for developing the sailing industry at the site of the former submarine base. The strategy adopted was based on three key points: offshore racing, support for sailing businesses, and refitting. It resulted in the creation of a business village devoted to maritime activities, an offshore racing area with dedicated infrastructures, and a tourist centre with the &ldquo;Cit&eacute; de la Voile Eric Tabarly&rdquo;&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lorientbretagnesudtourisme.fr\/fr\/immanquables\/lorient-la-base\/cite-voile-eric-tabarly\/\">Eric Tabarly Sailing City<\/a>), along with a submarine museum.&nbsp;The Sailing City is a centre dedicated to boating and ocean racing. It works showcasing sailing and nautical businesses, and it offers the opportunity to discover the world of sailing through a museum tour.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Additionally, the cells of the old blocks host new equipment, such as the Hydrophone, a new contemporary music hall with more than 50 concerts per year; the underwater museum, installed in a former rescue and training centre for submariners; and a 325-meter zipline that descends above the water from the top of the &ldquo;Tour des Vents&rdquo; (Tower of Winds).&nbsp;This sailing cluster-based development strategy has seen Lorient establish itself as a recognised European location for offshore racing. It fosters a new local industry with 780 direct jobs for the Lorient area, 150 professional skippers, about fifteen people for the Ocean Racing Team, and 79 businesses.&nbsp;Moreover, the area and its museums receive around 200,000 visitors each year.&nbsp;The strategy has also allowed the people of Lorient to reclaim this historically important former military site and regenerate it into a new district, better integrated into the city.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Additional information<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lorient-agglo.bzh\/a-vivre\/nautisme-et-plaisance\/lorient-la-base\/\">https:\/\/www.lorient-agglo.bzh\/a-vivre\/nautisme-et-plaisance\/lorient-la-base\/<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lorientbretagnesudtourisme.fr\/fr\/immanquables\/lorient-la-base\/cite-voile-eric-tabarly\/\">https:\/\/www.lorientbretagnesudtourisme.fr\/fr\/immanquables\/lorient-la-base\/cite-voile-eric-tabarly\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past decades,&nbsp;Lorient has seen far-reaching changes to its maritime activity after the French Navy abandoned many spaces and the submarine base in 1995.&nbsp;The submarine base opened in 1940, and the German army used it during the war. After that, it was occupied by the French army, who used the space until 1977. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","pays-bp":[10531],"ville-bp":[10545],"organisme-bp":[10546],"engagement-bp":[10412],"aivp_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22478","bonnes-pratiques","type-bonnes-pratiques","status-publish","hentry","pays-bp-france","ville-bp-lorient","organisme-bp-ville-de-lorient","engagement-bp-8-interface-ville-port"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lorient (France): A submarine base redeveloped as a sailing cluster &#8211; AIVP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lorient (France): A submarine base redeveloped as a sailing cluster &#8211; AIVP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the past decades,&nbsp;Lorient has seen far-reaching changes to its maritime activity after the French Navy abandoned many spaces and the submarine base in 1995.&nbsp;The submarine base opened in 1940, and the German army used it during the war. After that, it was occupied by the French army, who used the space until 1977. 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