ramparts of villefranche-de-conflent

This is a lovely middle-age village with nice and narrow streets and historic buildings. If you are in the neighborhood, you must visit this place.

hard slog up to the fort but worth it. Incredible walk down the internal secret stairs back to the village.

We looked down from the summit of the intact fortress, down more than ten centuries of history. Its strategic position midway between France and Spain made possession nine tenth of the law. The colour of the citadel's stones shows the pink of marble extracted from nearby quarries, we were informed by a local history teacher, adding that the ramparts had resisted many a siege but remained unbroken. Ok, so far. But then he explained why the town is a varitable maze adapted by the famous Vauban for defence. Fort Liberia, is reached from the village by an underground staircase with, (yes we counted them) 734 steps, is certainly an exciting attraction. The local church has fine iron-work on the door and various crafts and businesses nearby, remind one of this town's past as a trading centre. So apart from its natural defence, the village is a heritage site and its positioning with the hard rocky shelf above it is glorious to look upon. Like the fort, the locals are admirably preserved. The space within the walls is organised around two parallel streets both lined with stores and cafes which offered a much needed welcome after our stiff climb. There is a splendid 12th-Century courthouse within the church square, while the church itself is surmounted by a 13th-Century belfry. Strolling through the busy streets, we came upon many doors that bore images of witches, apparently successful in warding off evil spirits. A stop at Marylou's bakery, gained us succulent bougnettes,an orange flower-scented fritters liberally sprinkled with sugar. Just what the doctor ordered!. This is Catalan magic. After the tour around the fort and another to the caves nearby, we boarded the little yellow train that's a great regional attraction, which connected us with the higher village of Latour- de- Carol, through some breathtaking mountain scenery. As it chugs, it serves 22 stations and exudes a marvellous feeling of exhilaration adding 19 tunnels to explore over a distance of just 60 km.

A simple tour looking at more ruins - but interesting. spent more time wandering around the town which was full of craft shops - worth a stop if you are in the area, about 40 minutes.

Medieval ramparts rebuilt in the 18th century. Long walk inside the ramparts - can easily trip - needs more lighting and more signs in English. Beautiful city

The city itself is beautiful, nothing bad to say about that. But the ramparts are terrible. You're walking mostly through long dark corridors, searching for arrows. But the tour was pretty chaotic in our opinion.The view outside is mainly roofs and cars and the most inreresting piece is seen at the very beginning of the tour.And for something as touristic as this, the info is very limited. You get a piece of paper with some explanation of the story, but 90% what's told inside the ramparts is French. Give an English translation too and a lot of tourists can read it too. Although the ramparts are pretty on the outside (and some inside places too) you won't miss out on anything if you skip this one.

This attraction is a complete con. You spend at least an hour walking along narrow corridors with no views over the town or surrounding countryside other than tiny narrow slits or slightly wider gaps covered in wire mesh. When you climb into the turreted sections hoping for some relief, there is none. I have never been so eager to follow the red exit signs and get out into the sunlight. It was so bad it made me angry, very grumpy, and so eager to write this report to warn others.

Whilst waiting for a train in Villefranche railway station, my wife and I saw the nearby impressive walls of the Vauban Ramparts. We wandered in, and found a truly delightful French village within the walls. Chock full of good restaurants and shops, and with a long and remarkable history, this is one of those well-kept secrets of France. If you are in the area, near Perpignan, don't miss it - its free, as well!

This is a beautiful little town that is completely walled in. Definitely worth a stop if you are passing through. We ate at a little bakery which we loved, but looked like lots of good restaurants as well. If you love mushrooms this seems to be the place as there are lots of stores selling local mushrooms and mushroom products.

This is the quintessential walled town with narrow cobbled streets, ramparts and a fort that stands over it, guarding it from enemy attack (well, back in yesteryear it did - no real need for that nowadays!).It's a tad on the touristy side but don't let that distract from it's charm. You can easily spend half a day there including lunch and a trip to the fort that's perched high on the cliff above it.There's several bars and restaurants to choose from and shops that sell witches (?!?!?!?) and other shops that sell local art. A picturesque little town that i'd recommend anyone in the area goes and visitsTip - take the jeep to the fort and walk back down.

What a beautiful town with outstanding ramparts surrounding the buildings. This really is worth a visit.

Amazingly we'll preserved. You do feel like your in a film set. Preferred the views from outside the town of the battlements and looking up at the fort. A must to visit if your in the area but so very touristy once you are inside. Plenty of shops selling nothing but touristy tat. Did have a fab pizza but sadly can't remember the name. Big pizza oven inside restaurant that was like a tardis - big on the inside, had courtyard garden at back if you find it the pizzas were just great. Can be hard to park as it's so touristy. I'd recommend parking by the grotto, 5 mins walk away.

This must be unique. A walled town with covered walls. Its a good visit with plenty to see and learn about the history of the town and the region.

The fortified wall is very well maintained. The visit is mostly in the shade, excellent on a sunny day. The guide was very knowledgeable about the history and made it very interesting. The visit takes about 1 hour. These fortifications are part "Fortifications of Vauban - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". This city itself is well worth the visit and see yourself go back in time.

We've visited Villefranche de Conflent with teenagers and thought the walk along the ramparts would be a funny thing to do. Both adults and young people were delighted by this nice walk. The view of the town and the mountains is really nice, the explanations are good and everybody enjoyed it.