Practicalities
France > Alps > Briancon > Practicalities
Briançon's tourist office is in the place du Temple close to the Porte Pignerol gateway (Mon–Sat 8.30am–noon & 1.30–6.30pm, Sun 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm; tel 04.92.21.08.50, www.briancon.com). The mountain guides office is in Parc Chancel (summer daily 9.30am–noon & 3–7pm; tel 04.92.20.15.73), and the Maison du Parc National des Écrins is in place Médecin-Général-Blanchard (tel 04.92.21.42.15, www.parcsnationaux-fr.com/ecrins). There are a number of inexpensive hotels in Briançon, among which Pension des Remparts, in the Citadel itself, 14 av de Vauban (tel 04.92.21.08.73; €30–40; closed Nov) is the best. A more comfortable option is L'Alpe Hôtel on avenue du Dauphiné (tel 04.92.20.02.00, www.alpe-hotel.com; closed Oct to mid-Dec; €55–70), a large modern place in the centre of town, with a sauna and swimming pool. There's also a very nice hostel at Le Bez, near Serre-Chevalier (tel 04.92.24.74.54, [email protected]), 8km north on the main Grenoble road and served by local buses. The nearest campsite is Camping des 5 Vallées at St-Blaise (tel 04.92.21.06.27), 2km from town. There are a number of gîtes d'étape, including the cosy Le Petit Phoque, 2km along the Montgenèvre road at Le Fontenil (tel 04.92.20.07.27; closed Nov).As for eating, the old town has a number of good options. It's full of wonderful Italian cafés, with delicious cakes and pizzas, and there are plenty of reasonably priced restaurants such as Les Templiers and Le Petit Bouchon, both of which have patios on the place du Temple (beside the tourist office) and solid, cheap menus from around €10–12.
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