Citadelle Saint-Elme, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

To protect the County of Nice from invaders, the Duke of Savoy built the Saint-Elme citadel in the 16th century, together with the satellite fortresses of Mont-Alban and Saint-Hospice, and the port of La Darse where the galleys were moored. These constructions entrusted to Italian engineers were fore-runners of a new type of bastion fortification. Today, this remarkable complex (7.5 acres) accommodates the Town Hall, the Volti, Goetz-Boumeester Museums and the Roux Collection.

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French Riviera Tourism

Castles and fortifications in France

User Reviews

Haroon Hammad (6 years ago)
Calm & wonderful place, far from tourists, there are couple of nice sea food restaurants

Anca Stan (7 years ago)
Such a nice place with lovely narrow streets and amazing view.

Stephen Lee (7 years ago)
Very large ground and nice garden to walk around. Also some exhibits to see. Free admission. Very enjoyable.

David Choi (7 years ago)
It's free and very photogenic! Go in and have a look. No crowds

Pete Watts (7 years ago)
Lovely fort! Free entry, various gardens to explore, and great views of Villefranche.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

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Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Citadelle Saint-Elme

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