Briançon

Briançon is the highest city in France, at an altitude of 1,326 meters. It’s a centerpiece of the Fortifications of Vauban UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The hilltop part of town literally is the fortification, within existing city walls, and wandering the streets you’ll get great views of the surrounding valley and mountains, and the two other defensive forts that complement the central fortress.

As a historical tour, two hours is plenty; after that you’ll start wondering what to do with yourself. The town is a bit run down, without much that requires a lot of time to process or experience. We stayed at the borderline acceptable *Auberge de la Paix, within the city walls (very tired, terrible breakfast, not the cleanest). Dinner at the fancier (for the town) **Le Gavroche was fine. **Panorama Cafe was nice for a drink with a view.

La Salle-les-Alpes

The local ski resort, Serre Chevalier, was a very nice surprise. We had fairly low expectations after skiing Alpe d’Huez, and found a very different, wide open, tree lined experience. We stayed in La Salle-les-Alpes, which was a good choice – lots of dining options, a cute walking street on the north side of the river, walking distance to the lifts. It’s older than one might guess, part of a fiefdom from the 11th century. Take a walk up the hill to see the Romanesque **St-Marcellin Church, heavily modified with Baroque touches.

Meals and Lodging in La Salle-les-Alpes:

• We enjoyed our stay at **Hôtel La vieille Ferme – it’s one of several Swedish-run properties (the Langley group), decorated in fairly minimal Nordic style in an old farmhouse. Great location, walking distance to the slopes, with comfortable rooms. There’s a popular restaurant that has simple menus most nights on the first floor. No parking, but there are lots fairly nearby. Good value for the very reasonable price.
• Crepes at **Le Break were very good, next to the lifts.
• **La Maison was packed with personality – the owner/chef (wearing a shirt with his own face on it) was clearly having a ball. Local dishes plus pizza, fairly tasty.
• **La Manouille was very popular and in a cute, rustic setting. Heavy on cheese options. It wasn’t the best fondue of my life, but the general atmosphere was good.
• Lunch at **L’Orée du Bois was wonderful – this is a fine dining establishment of quality (we didn’t realize that when booking) and deserves a nicer outfit than ski gear. But they were gracious about it and we loved our meal!
• Dinner at *Rock Noir Hôtel & Spa was kind of a dud – trying to be fancy in weird ways, bad lighting, undertrained staff. Hotel didn’t look particularly appealing.

Ski report: very easy to get around, low to medium altitude (so a lot of it is in the trees, which is nice). Top notch grooming even when there is no new snow. Large enough, so even when there are a lot of people, it doesn’t feel crowded. Not fancy, perhaps a bit down market, totally pleasant. Very invested in sustainability (operated on 100% renewable energy since 2011).

Food and drink on the slopes:

• We had a quick drink at the unassuming **Chalet Serre Blanc, which has a great view and cheap beverages. 
• *Bivouac Serre Chevalier was trying hard to be fancy (at least in the part of the restaurant with table service). Food wasn’t amazing.

Le Monêtier-les-Bains

Le Monêtier-les-Bains technically in Serre Chevalier, but didn’t appear to connect. It’s a historic spa town, dating at least back to the Roman Empire, with a peak of popularity between 1715 and the late 19th century. The new thermal bath of *Les Grands Bains was opened in 1999. It was very crowded – kind of entertaining, but definitely a one-time thing. Two pools (indoor and outdoor), various smaller pools, very popular with families.

There’s a small ski area that focuses on children. It’s a cute little town, though I wouldn’t choose it to stay in – the traffic to and from the main resort areas can be quite intense.

Montgenèvre

Montgenèvre is about 10 minutes up the pass towards Italy from Briançon – an easy and rather rewarding ski option while in the area.

Ski report: Get there at 9 at the earliest for good parking, as it fills up quickly. Early morning skiing is excellent on Les Gondrans – good warmup runs, great groomers, great grooming, mostly in the sun. Higher than Serre Chevalier. Then head east. In general there’s a lot of terrain, even without going over to Sestriere. Lots of side country, great chutes, and what seems like a lot of good tree skiing if there’s enough snow. Very pleasant, not crowded, some British and lots of Italians, some lift line mayhem – but not long lines. Didn’t see any other Americans. We probably only covered one-third of the slopes in a day – there’s plenty to keep you busy for a long time.

We had a fun lunch at **Bistrot Montagnard, right on the main road near the lifts. Food isn’t particularly remarkable but it’s good enough, and the servers are cute.

On the piste, *Rifugio Chalet Col Saurel was not worth a visit. It’s reasonably easy to access but they’re not the most hospitable, and clearly not trying – who serves room temperature hot chocolate?

Cervières

We passed Fort Queyras (picturesque, parking was difficult and we didn’t stop), and went over the beautiful and quite unique **Col d’izoard (2,360 m). Accessible in summer only, it’s a bleak landscape of  barren scree slopes with protruding pinnacles of weathered rock – known as the Casse Déserte. It’s a famous Tour de France route. The road is in good condition, if narrow, and popular with bikes and motorcycles.

Lunch at **Auberge l’Arpelin on the downside of the pass, towards Briançon, was passable, family run.

Embrun

Embrun is a bigger city than you’d expect, lots of good architecture and sweeping views. I’d call it middle of the road on a prosperity scale, but there were lots of people out and about, and signs of investment in the region. ***Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Réal d’Embrun is a superstar – staggeringly large and beautiful, made even more surprising by the remote location.

Embrun became a noted place of pilgrimage in the fifth century, after relics of St Nazarius were relocated to the region. The cathedral church, built on foundations of earlier structures, was built between 1170 and 1220. Its Romanesque portal, columns supported on crouching lions in the north portal, and striped stonework illustrate ties with the Lombardy region. The interior has an elaborate Baroque high altar inlaid in colored marbles, recently rediscovered frescoes, and an organ (the oldest working in France) donated by Louis XI of France. All this to say – go out of your way to see this wonder!