Bastion de la Reine

Briançon is the highest town in France, at roughly 1,300 metres above sea level, and its fortified upper town is the finest of the Alpine defences designed by Vauban, the military engineer of Louis XIV. The Bastion de la Reine belongs to this system of ramparts, which climbs the rock above the meeting of the Durance and its tributaries and encloses the old town in a belt of stone. The fortifications were planned from the 1690s, in the years when the king's war with Savoy and other powers made the frontier with Italy a danger, and they were completed over the following decades. The works of this period transformed the medieval hilltop town into a fortress.

Vauban's approach to mountain defence was practical. At Briançon he used the steepness of the site and built walls that follow the slopes, with bastions that project from the wall to give defenders a line of fire along each face. The design relies on solid masonry, thick walls and low profiles that make them hard targets for cannon, and on several lines of defence, with outer forts on the heights above the town, such as the forts of the Têtes and the Salettes, to cover the approaches. The Pont d'Asfeld, a high bridge over the gorge of the Durance, was built in the 1730s to link the town with the fort of the Têtes. Together these works earned a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008 as part of the group of Vauban fortifications.

A walk along the ramparts shows how the defence fits the terrain. Bastions like this one provide a platform with views over the valleys, and you can look down on the roofs of the old town and across to the surrounding peaks. The streets inside the walls, such as the steep Grande Gargouille with its central gutter, are lined with tall, narrow houses and small squares, and the Place d'Armes was once the parade ground of the garrison. The twin-towered collegiate church of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Nicolas, built in the early eighteenth century according to plans by Vauban, is among the notable buildings of the upper town. The old centre has a lively feel, with painted façades and sundials, shops and cafés.

The ramparts are free to walk in the open parts, and there are no fixed opening hours for the streets, though some sites inside the town have their own times. The slopes are steep and paved with stone, so sturdy shoes are recommended, and the weather can be hot in summer and cold in winter. For a fuller understanding of the defences, the town's heritage service offers guided walks, which can be booked in advance.

Nearby places to visit include the Citadelle de Briançon, the Église Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, the Musée des Traversées and the Vallée de la Clarée, a protected valley for walkers. The Fort du Mont-Dauphin is another Vauban fortress in the region. The bastion suits history lovers, walkers and photographers.