Briançon, the alliance of skiing and history
Briançon strengthens the head and the legs!
"The mountain in summer, it's happiness guaranteed by choosing Serre Chevalier Valley Briançon"
Attention jewel! The city of Art & History, fortified in its heights by Mr. Vauban, is a string of beauties and treasures.
The visitor is warned, the discovery of the picturesque city and its fortifications classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, is quite dazzling.
From the ramparts that enclose the upper city rise the facades with colored ochres that sing the south reminding the Italian neighborhood. The tone is given in this confines of the PACA region where the Mediterranean fragrances take altitude and embalm the terraces of restaurants.
The entrance to medieval Briançon is through the doors cut into the thick stone wall.
Once you have crossed the moat, which is now grassed over, from top to bottom and from bottom to top, with your soles beating the ancestral pavement of the Gargoyle, you can see the little wonders.
Here, the baroque Collegiate Church, there the Asfeld bridge, further on the Cordeliers church and its 15th century mural frescoes, then the Templars' Houseand the Penitents' chapel.
All this is enhanced by the painted charm of the sundials, punctuated by the gurgling of the fountains of character, and joyfully animated by the singular stores of this piece of history erected at an altitude of 1,326m.
No doubt the guided tour by the Heritage Department gives a particular relief to this cultural, cheerful and lively dive. In July, the traditional medieval festival is a must to discover the mysteries of the citadel, in August, the Forts en Fête festival adorns the military works with a thousand artistic sparkles.
In Briançon, we love climbing, it's even second nature! Since 1989, every end of July, the international elite meet on the vertiginous wall of the sports park for the World Climbing Championship. A week dedicated to the discipline, to the mountains, a show and thrills guaranteed to make your mouth water, or rather your feet tingle!
A jump to the House of the Ecrins National Park which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and already the alert visitor has gone down the slope to the lower town to find some coolness in the Schappe Park, this luxuriant garden which with its Japanese bridge and its pagoda claims its astonishing oriental style.
The Durance river rolls and crosses Briançon, carrying in its waves the most experienced rafters and kayakers while on the tree courses the acrobatic addicts move from branch to branch.
The only thing left to do is to walk through the door of the Guide Bureau and offer yourself an initiation, a beautiful route or a great race, roped up to a pro.
And why not on the side of the Prorel ? A jump in the gondola, sure that the suspended trip offers a peak of pleasure in altitude.
Land of history, the dynamic capital of the Briançonnais also breathes sport through all its pores. The playground is immense, and there is something for everyone, whether it be on foot or in the water.
The site of the Briançon Sports Park has been labeled"Preparation Center for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games " for climbing!
It will be able to welcome delegations from all over the world for a training camp or as a back-up base during the Paris 2024 Games, offering optimal conditions for training, acclimatization and preparation.
Briançon is known for its microclimate with an exceptional sunshine of 300 days per year! which gives it a great therapeutic value.
