Briancon

Briancon stands at about one thousand three hundred and twenty-six metres, the highest town in France, on a spur commanding the routes to Italy. Vauban, who came here in 1692 and 1700, planned a complete system: a walled upper town with gates and bastions, plus the occupation of the surrounding heights, where after the frontier was redrawn in 1713 his successors built separate forts, the Trois-Tetes, Randouillet, Salettes and Dauphin, linked to the town by the Asfeld bridge, a single stone arch across the gorge of the Durance begun in 1729. It is one of the twelve Vauban sites inscribed by UNESCO in 2008. The walled town, the Cite Vauban, is steep and narrow with a channel of running water down the main street.

History

Briançon was the Roman Brigantium, part of the kingdom of King Cottius and the first place in Gaul after the Mont Genèvre pass, where the road branched west to Vienne and south to Embrun and Gap. In the 1040s it passed to the counts of Albon and shared the fate of the Dauphiné, and its Briançonnais once reached over the Alps into the Dora Riparia and Chisone valleys, until the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 handed those valleys to Savoy in exchange for Barcelonnette. In 1815 the town held out through a three-month siege by the Allies, recorded on one of its gates with the motto Le passé répond de l'avenir, and since 2008 its fortifications have been part of the Fortifications of Vauban World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Briançon).

The main sights

• The Cite Vauban - a complete walled upper town with gates and bastions.
• The satellite forts - fortifications on the surrounding heights.
• The Asfeld bridge - a single stone arch across a deep gorge.
• The gargouille - a channel of running water down the main street.

When to go

June to September for walking and the forts; January to March for skiing at Serre Chevalier next door. Passes to the north close in winter, leaving one main approach.

Good to know

The Cite is steep and cobbled throughout. The satellite forts are separate and some are only accessible on guided visits. High passes into the area close for months.

Nearby

The Ecrins park lies west; Italy is over the Montgenevre pass.

Key facts