Briançon Page 2 of 4 Introduction At an altitude of 1,326 metres Briançon is the highest town in Europe. Five river valleys, including those of the Durance, Guisane and Cerveyette converge within the vicinity of Briançon itself and provide natural routeways through the high Alpine ranges. Close to the Italian border Briançon has been a strategically important town. View of Briancon from the Citedal With approximately 12,000 inhabitants Briançon is the second largest town (sous-prefecture) in the department of Haute-Alpes after Gap. Briançon has a wide variety of functional activities, these include commercial, and administrative activities. For neighbouring villages and ski resorts it serves as a service and retail centre. Briançon is also a nationally well-known health centre with the high altitude and dry air being viewed as being beneficial to the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. Briançon has a very sunny, dry climate. It boasts over 300 sunny days a year and so Briançon has become a popular place for tourists to visit. Many sundails are located throughout the area and a tourist trail has been developed by the regional tourist board to encourage visitors to come to the area in summer months.  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Page 2 of 4