Getting Lost Looking for Beer in Briançon

Getting Lost Looking for Beer in Briançon

Briançon sits high in the French Alps, surrounded by mountains and crowned by the historic Cité Vauban, the fortified old town above the city.

I arrived by train and started exploring on foot, making my way uphill toward the old town. The plan was pretty simple: walk around, see the sights, get a beer, and head back down.

Naturally, things didn’t go according to plan.

The walk up to the Cité Vauban is beautiful, with views opening up across Briançon and the surrounding mountains. Once I walked through the old town, I decided to make a questionable hiking decision and head even higher for better views, despite not being dressed for hiking and having very little water.

Worth it, though. 🤩

After wandering around the old town and eventually getting somewhat lost, I made my way back toward the main street, where I stopped for some very important orange sherbet. And yes, there is a difference between sherbet and sherbert. One is a thing and one is not a thing. I will not be taking questions at this time.

From there, I continued downhill and found a much nicer route through the woods toward the Durance River, eventually making my way back toward the city.

A final view from my balcony puts the Cité Vauban into perspective – perched above Briançon and looking even more impressive from a distance. The video ends with the late afternoon shadows slowly moving across the town and surrounding mountains as evening settles in.

Just a walk through Briançon that became a little more adventurous than intended.

Chapters0:00 Train into Briançon0:14 View From My Balcony to the Old Town0:22 First Thoughts of Briançon0:48 Walk Through Town Up to the Old Castle Walls1:51 Central Thoroughfare of Briançon’s Old Town2:13 Bad Hiking Decisions for Good Views3:21 Castle Walls for More Views4:10 Somewhat Lost4:52 Orange Sherbet5:23 Walking Back by the Durance River6:08 From the Prorel Cable Car to Briançon’s Old Town — Cité Vauban6:26 Walking Briançon Recap6:53 Evening Shadows Across the Mountains

Thanks for watching! 👀