Briançon

About a 40 minute drive from Sauze d’Oulx is Briançon in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Briancon is the highest city in France at 1,326 metres (4,350 feet). If you park at the top of the Briançon, you can enter the fortified town through one of two drawbridges and explore the town from the top down.

The historical centre is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east. The Fort Janus is no less than 1,200 m. above the town.

On 8 July 2008, several buildings of Briançon were classified by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.