Page 206 - Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

Briançon’s old town Pick up maps and info
is a late-medieval time at the Maison du Parc
capsule, its winding (%04 92 21 42 15; www.
cobbled lanes punctu- ecrins-parcnational.fr; place
ated by shuttered, du Médecin Général Blanchard;
candy-coloured town h10.30am-6.30pm Jul &
a staggeringly beauti- houses and shops sell- Aug, 2-6pm Mon-Fri Sep-Jun).
ful Alpine pass, whose ing whistling marmots. For guided treks, glacier
forbidding remoteness The steep main street, traverses, mountain bik-
may make you feel like Grande Gargouille, links ing, rafting, kayaking,
the last living person on two town gates, Porte canyoning and via fer-
earth. To the west lies the de Pignerol and Porte rate, check with Bureau
Parc National des Écrins, d’Embrun. Crowning the des Guides et Accompa-
a 918-sq-km expanse of old city is the massive gnateurs (%04 92 20 15 73;
high mountain wilder- Fort du Château. Daily www.guides-briancon.fr; 24
ness. Stop and savour the guided walks are run by
top-of-the-world feeling Service du Patrimoine rue Centrale; h10am-noon
& 3-7pm Mon-Fri, 3-7pm Sat &
before returning to the
squiggling ribbon of (%04 92 20 29 49; www.ville- 10am-1pm Sun summer, 4-7pm
rest of year).
briancon.fr; Porte de Pignerol,
roadway below.
Cité Vauban; tours adult/child
The Drive » Despite the €6.20/4.60; h10am-noon & The Drive » From Briançon
resume your way southeast
distance on the signpost (35km), 2-5.30pm Tue-Fri & Sun Sep- along the D902, then via the
the incredibly twisty and scenic Jun, or Mon-Sat in Jul & Aug). D947 and D5 to your final stop,
descent into Briançon on the Briançon’s biggest St-Véran. Only 28km as the crow
D902 and D1091 feels longer; flies, this last section of tightly
stupendous views will stop you drawcard is its Unesco- folded mountain road works out
in your tracks every couple listed ensemble of 17th- to 55km, and around 1¾ hours
of minutes. Enjoy every horn- and early-18th-century behind the wheel.
ALPS, JURA & RHÔNE VALLEY 17 ALPINE ADvENTuRE
tooting, head-spinning, glacier- structures designed by
gawping moment, with views of pioneering French mili-
thundering falls, sheer cliffs and tary architect Vauban,
jagged peaks razoring above including the old town’s 9 St-véran
thick larch forests. What more fitting place
signature star-shaped
fortifications, the coral- to wind up a tour of
pink Collégiale Notre the roof of Europe than
8 Briançon Dame et St Nicolas, sev- France’s highest village?
Perched astride a high eral nearby forts and the Nestled a cool 2040m
rocky outcrop, the fairy- Pont d’Asfeld bridge. above sea level, in the
tale walled city of Brian- There are outstand- midst of the Parc Naturel
çon affords views of the ing hiking opportuni- Régional du Queyras,
snowcapped Écrins peaks ties to be found in the St-Véran is listed as one
from almost every corner. mountains of nearby of France’s most beautiful
The centre’s Italian ambi- Parc National des Écrins villages and offers serene
ence is no coincidence; (www.ecrins-parcnational.fr). hiking in all directions.
Italy is just 20km away.

204