Mont-Valérien was a medieval hermitage and later a popular place of pilgrimage from the 17th to 19th centuries. In the middle of 19th century one of the forts forming part of the Parisian belt was built there. During the Second World War, the site was the German authorities' principal place for executions in France. From 1944 onwards, thanks to support from General de Gaulle and the work of the organisations of the families of those who were shot, it became a memorial site. The Mémorial de la France combattante was built there in 1960 and in 2010 new museum exhibition areas were opened.

Throughout the Second World War, Mont-Valérien was used by the Germans as a place for executing resistance fighters and hostages. The prisoners were shot in a sunken glade. Recent historical research has allowed the identification of more than a thousand of those who were shot.

On the 1st November 1944, General de Gaulle paid tribute to the dead of the Résistance by first of all engaging in private prayer in the glade at Mont-Valérien, before continuing to the fort at Vincennes, another place where shootings were carried out in Paris, and finally to the cemetery in Ivry-sur-Seine, the main burial place of those from the Île-de-France area who were shot. In 1945, Mont-Valérien was chosen by General de Gaulle as the site of the monument to those who died in the 1939-1945 war.

The bodies of fifteen servicemen, symbolising the various forms of combat carried out for the Liberation, were placed in a temporary crypt and joined in 1952 by a sixteenth body representing soldiers in Indochina who fought against the Japanese. A 17th vault was later prepared to receive the remains of the last Companion of the Liberation.

In 1954, an urn containing the ashes of deportees was placed in the crypt. Having become President of the Republic, General de Gaulle decided to create the Mémorial de la France combattante, which was designed by Félix Brunau and inaugurated on the 18th June 1960.

At the beginning of 2000, it was decided to build a monument to those who were shot at Mont-Valérien, which was designed by Pascal Convert. Engraved upon it are all the names of those shot at Mont-Valérien, along with a dedication: "To the resistance fighters and hostages shot at Mont-Valérien by Nazi troops 1940-1944 and to all those who have never been identified".

For a long time Mont-Valérien has remained just as it was, which gives it a great evocative power. Since 2006, the site has been the subject of a special drive by the remembrance, heritage and archives department of the Ministry of Defence to carry out developments to provide the general public with the written resources necessary for an understanding of this important and complex, unrecognised place of national remembrance.

Located on the esplanade of the Mémorial de la France combattante, the information centre allows visitors to consulter biographical papers, as well as digitalised letters, photographs, and archive and Ile-de-France documents about those who were shot, using interactive terminals.

A special area is devoted to the Companions of the Liberation. In addition, there are screens showing archive images of the history of the shootings and about the Mémorial de la France combattante and the ceremonies that have been held there. A permanent exhibition "Résistance and repression 1940-1944" is held in the old stable building. Dedicated to the Résistance, those who were shot and repression in the Ile-de-France area, it helps to put Mont-Valérien in a historical and geographical context.

The exhibition thus retraces the development of the policies of repression and the journey of those who were shot, from their arrest and internment up to their execution. It shows the various places of imprisonment, execution and burial in the Ile-de-France. The central part is more intimate and dedicated to the last letters of those who were shot, the last traces left for their families, which bear witness to the commitment and martyrdom of these men.
 

Le Mont Valérien

Avenue du Professeur Léon Bernard 92150 Suresnes

Tel.: + 33 (0) 1 47 28 46 35

Email: info@montvalerien.fr

Tours of Mont-Valérien are free and guided; they last an hour and thirty minutes and are at set times, every day except Monday: Low Season*: 10h00, 15h00 High season*: 9h30-11h00, 14h30-16h00 Groups of more than 10 people by appointment only

The reception and information Centre is open every day except Monday, Low season*: 9 am to 12 pm and 1pm to 5 pm High season*: 9 am to 12 pm and 1pm to 6 pm Low season: November-February, July-August High season: March-June, September-October

How to get to the Memorial BY TRAIN: The Paris Saint Lazare to Versailles line to Suresnes station BY RATP: RER line A La Défense or line no. 1 La Défense and then bus no. 360 (Mont Valérien or Hôpital Foch Cluseret stops) BY TRAMWAY: Val de Seine T2 La Défense to Issy-les-Moulineaux - Suresnes: Longchamp Station BY CAR: Porte Maillot - Pont de Suresnes The site is closed to the public on the 1st January, 15th August, 1st November and 25th and 31th December.

It is protected from above by Coll des Ladrones and Tourelle des Fusiliers Forts. It shows that Vauban's military methods for defending positions had spread far and wide. The Spanish citadel at Jaca is a pentagonal construction with defensive ramparts at each corner linked by a wall walk. Felipe II (Philip II) ordered its construction in a suburb of Jaca in the 17th century, fearing an invasion by French heretics.

Building commenced in 1595, using plans drawn by Tiburcio Spanoqui, and was completed in the 18th century. The inside of the citadel is accessed via a mannerism-style gate featuring the shield of the Austrians. Jaca Citadel and its counterpart in Liège, Belgium, are the only fully preserved pentagonal-type citadels still standing.

It was declared an artistic monument in 1951 and restored in 1968. It was also awarded the European prize.
 

Its exterior protection system is built around a ditch. The Cour d'Armes is formed of a double arch, and alternate pointed arches and basket-handle arches supported by pillars with stone bases and brick tops.

The 17th-century church is dedicated to San Pedro, with a notable baroque gate and wall paintings by Topete.

Aragon Valley Tourism Association

Plaza Ayuntamiento,1. Bajos. 22880 Canfranc Estación (Huesca)

Tel: +34 974-372184

Fax: +34 974-372185

Email: atva@valledelaragon.com

Opening hours 11am to 12.30pm and 5pm to 6.30pm

This chapel, now fully restored, was erected in 1927. It is unique in the annals of aviation. It renders homage to the pioneers of aviation who have died between 1912 and the present day.

In 1908, the village of Lescar hosted the first flying school ran by the Wright Brothers. It was there on 9 January 1909 that they succeeded the first 7 minutes flights, then 4 minutes. This was also the school that trained the first three French pilots: Paul Tissandier, Count de Lambert and Captain Lucas Girardville.

The 100 acres of the Pont-Long airstrip prefigured the current school of airborne troops (ETAP). The site is maintained by the Aviation Memorial Chapel Friendly Society and the Guynemer Hangar.

Aviation Memorial Chapel

Route d'Uzein 64230 Lescar

Tel: +33 (0)5 59 77 83 32

Open Thursday 10.00 am to 12.00 pm and 2-6 pm

Visits by appointment

Admission: Free

Mobile: +33 (0)6 13 69 21 67

Website: www.aviation-memorial.com

Fort du Portalet, in the Pyrénées-Atlantique, was designed to defend the road from le Somport (Aspe Valley) and is famous for having been used as a prison for Léon Blum, Edouard Daladier, Georges Mandel and Paul Reynaud in 1941 and 1942 and later for Marshal Pétain. It was built following an order given by Louis-Philippe on the 22nd July 1842 to protect the Pyrenees border from a possible Spanish invasion.

The structure was built at an altitude of 765 metres on a cliff on the right bank of the Gave d'Aspe, downriver from Urdos. It takes its name from the former medieval commercial toll bridge, le "Portalet", of La Porte d'Aspe, situated 100 metres further down. The accommodation comprises a barracks for the troops and officers' lodge, both built on two levels. A small upper fort of three bastions equipped with batteries, protects the lanes from the le Rouglan plateau and la Mâture. The road and the Urdos were covered by the creation of crenulated galleries carved into the rock. Equipped with around ten canons, the stronghold could accommodate more than 400 men and seal off access for a siege lasting at least a week.
The 18th Infantry Regiment of Pau was stationed there from 1871; it remained there until 1925. From there, it saw action from 1875 to 1876 against Spanish Carlist soldiers. On the eve of the First World War, the fort was left in civilian hands and remained so until 1940, when the Vichy regime interned those people deemed to be "responsible for the defeat" following the Riom trial. Amongst them were Léon Blum, Edouard Daladier, Georges Mandel, Paul Reynaud and Maurice Gamelin. When, in November 1942, the Free Zone was invaded, the sector was used as a position for German troops. The fort was liberated on the 24th August 1944 by Resistance fighters from Aspe and Spanish Guerillas. Following the liberation, between August and November 1945, le Portalet was used as a place of internment for Marshal Pétain before he was transferred to the island of Yeu.
Aspe Valley Tourist Information Office Place Sarraillé 64490 Bedous Tel.: + 33 (0) 5 59 34 57 57 Email: aspe.tourisme@wanadoo.fr

The capital of the Basse-Navarre and an important crossing route over the Pyrenees, Saint Jean Pied de Port, known in Basque as Donibane Garazi, was founded at the end of the 12th Century under the reign of the last kings of Navarre to protect the course of the river and access to the Roncevaux and Bentarte passes. Built on the site of the former fortified château of the kings of Navarre, the Citadel, which has recently been restored, looks over the walled town. It is a fine example of the defensive system of "Vauban-style" fortifications, with a glacis, moats, walls flanked by bastions with arrow loops, firearms, swing bridges, draw bridges and portcullis.

Constructed by Chevalier Deville in 1628 under the reign of Richelieu, during a time of religious wars and Franco-Spanish conflicts, it was later modified by Vauban. Vauban improved the defensive system, which consisted of four bastions, and planned outlying forts such as the redoubts, as well as the fortification of the whole of the town - only the first part of the project would be carried out. It is accessed by a ramp. In the western demi-lune there is a view over the town and the Cize basin. Around the internal courtyard and against the ramparts constructed above the underground vaulted casemates, are huddled the barracks, the governor's quarters and chapel, the powder stores and the well.
It was from this military position that in 1793 and 1794 all the expeditions against Spain were carried out, during which the Volunteers and later, the 10 companies of Basque Chasseurs distinguished themselves under the command of the would-be Marshal Harispe. In 1814, the Citadel did not succumb under pressure from Anglo-Hispanic-Portuguese troops and the war ended before it surrendered. During the 1914-18 war, German prisoners and French disciplinarians were held there. The premises would be used as a barracks until 1923.
Between 1936 and 1939, having become council property, the Citadel accommodated 500 Basque refugee children fleeing from the Spanish Civil War. The fortress is now home to a secondary education college.
Mairie de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 13 place Charles de Gaulle 64220 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Tél. : 05.59.37.00.92 Fax : 05.59.37.99.78 E-mail : mairie.stjeanpieddeport@wanadoo.fr Horaires d'ouverture du lundi au vendredi de 08h30 à 12h00 et de 14h00 à 17h30 Tourist Information Office 14, Place Charles de Gaulle 64220 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Tel. +33 (0) 5 59 37 03 57 Fax: +33 (0) 5 59 37 34 91 E-mail:saint.jean.pied.de.port@wanadoo.fr

Fort de Socoa in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a fine example of the combination of medieval military architecture and the Vauban-style system of fortifications. The border with the empire of Charles Quint became a concern for the kings of France from the 16th century onwards. The Basque region, a natural route towards Spain, was visited by several engineers. Henri IV wanted to build a fortress to protect Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the surrounding towns from Spanish invasion. However, a conflict of interests between the communities delayed the project, which was finally carried out by Louis XIII. In 1636, the Spanish invaded the coast, carried out building work and renamed the citadel "Fort de Castille". As a result of military reversals, the region returned to French sovereignty. The fort was finished and took the name Socoa. In 1686, Vauban, on an inspection visit in the Pyrenees, visited the Basque Country. He then suggested strengthening the Fort de Socoa by using the ruins left by the Spanish following the Thirty Years War. The engineer planned to construct a security jetty to improve access to the fort.

Construction work, which began shortly afterwards, lasted until 1698. It was managed by Fleury. As far as alterations were concerned, the tower was raised in height to two floors, which he crowned with parapets and a machicolation. The site also had a barracks and a chapel. The main enclosure, which was subsequently altered, would take on its present form under the Regency (1723). Besieged once more by the Spanish in 1793, the fort was occupied by British troops in 1814 who used it as a sort of defensive support for the bay, a place for supplying the men stationed inland. Once peace was restored, Fort de Socoa was repaired between 1816 and 1817.
Municipal Tourist Information Place Royale Telephone: +33 (0) 5 59 27 27 08 Fax: + 33 (0) 5 59 27 03 21 e-mail:omt@ville-pau.fr

Biarritz, a little whaling village, quickly became a popular holiday destination under the influence of Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie.

In 1854, Napoleon III bought 20 hectares (50 acres) of land near the village of Biarritz and built the Villa Eugenie, the present-day Hôtel Impérial. The imperial chapel was built on the imperial domain in Biarritz by the architect Boeswillwald in 1865, at the imperial request of Eugenie de Montijo. It combines Romanesque-Byzantine and Hispano-Moorish styles. It is dedicated to the Mexican Black Madonna, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and was classified as a historic monument in 1981.

Built in brick, it comprises a single nave preceded by a porch and terminating in a semicircular apse. The interior is particularly remarkable: it combines different historicist styles and uses a variety of techniques and materials: azulejos, murals and enamel medallions. The painting by Steinheil in the semi-dome is the high point of the décor.

The building is undergoing a restoration campaign carried out by the Ministry of Culture’s Historic Monuments Service.

The Imperial Chapel

Rue Pellot 64200 Biarritz

Tel.: +33 (0)5 59 22 37 10

Opening Hours

Closed in January and February

March – November – December: Saturdays from 2.30 pm to 5.00 pm

April – May – October: Saturdays from 2.30 pm to 6.00 pm

June – July – August – September: Thursdays and Saturdays from 2.30 pm to 6.00 pm

Biarritz Town Hall

64200 Biarritz

Tel.: +33 (0)5 59 41 59 41

Castrum de Lapurdum, whose ruins can still be seen around the cathedral in Bayonne, already demonstrated its military purpose in Roman times. Over the centuries the town, a strategic crossing point towards Spain and a control point for river communications between the seafront and the inland region, was provided with significant defensive fortifications. The ramparts, as well as three fortified structures - the Château Vieux, the Château Neuf and the Citadel, all of which have for the most part been preserved - bear witness to this.

From the 15th century onwards, when Dunois' armies seized Bayonne on behalf of the King of France, Charles VII, the position of Bayonne became strategic. François 1st therefore equipped the town with a fort. Vauban modernised it from 1680 onwards. His arrival in the Pyrenees led to the redesigning of the system of defence for the Spanish border, in which Bayonne became the linchpin, supported by the citadels of Navarrenx and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. He supervised the construction and strengthening of the ramparts and gates. He also built and consolidated the buildings of the Château Vieux. The town's surrounding wall was also repaired and the old dungeon inside was demolished. Of particular note is the citadel he created on the right bank of the Adour, the Château Neuf. His accomplice, Ferry, oversaw the works. The citadel was in use in the 18th century and, in 1750, a garrison of 2,000 men was stationed there. In order to support the citadel, subsequent engineers built redoubts in the surrounding area to defend the town's Southern flanks. The Bayonne citadel saw its last military action in 1814 during confrontations between the Anglo-Hispanic-Portuguese troops led by Wellington and those of Marshal Soult. The premises are currently occupied by the 1st Marine Parachute Infantry Regiment (1er RPIMa). The citadel can be visited during open houses.
Office du tourisme Place des Basques - BP 819 64108 Bayonne cedex - France Tel. 05 59 46 09 00 E-mail : info@visitbayonne.com

The town of Seyre near Nailloux preserves the memory of some one hundred German Jewish children who stayed here. They stayed from the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1941 and left lively drawings on the walls of the Château’s outbuildings.

Having become orphans after Kristallnacht and the wave of anti-Semitic actions that swept over Nazi Germany, many German Jewish children sought refuge in England, Belgium and France, where they were taken care of by charitable organisations.

Driven out of Belgium by the Wehrmacht’s offensive of May 1940, one hundred of them between the ages of 3 and 15 travelled for six days in cattle cars to Villefranche de Lauragais and then Seyre (10 km south of Villefranche de Lauragais and 4 km from Nailloux).

Upon their arrival, the mayor of Seyre and the owner of the Château and its outbuildings, Mr Capèle, took charge of them; at the time the latter held a high position in the French Red Cross.

The refugees’ living conditions were very modest for the eighty-five people (children and their caregivers): two rooms, a kitchen and toilets in the courtyard, no water and no heating.

Finding supplies was the main problem. The Swiss Red Cross, with which Mr Capel d'Hautpoul had contacts, sent sugar and powdered milk, but most of the food had to be found on site, which was very difficult. The basic foodstuff was boiled maize, called milla. The harsh winter of 1940-1941 led the Swiss Red Cross to find more comfortable lodgings for them.

The Château de La Hille in Ariège was chosen. On the walls of the village and the building, which is still called “the orphanage” to this day, the children left several colour drawings, such a the “Little Pigs”, a cat with a violin, the church and a watermill.

Town Hall

31560 Seyre

Tel.: +33 (0)5.62.71.26.25

The Sucy-en-Brie Fort forms part of the second fortified belt around Paris. This defensive system was created by Général Séré de Rivières to supplement the one established on the new Eastern frontier after 1871.

Between 1870 and 1871, the Germans made the village of Sucy one of the strong points of their lines of trenches. The High Command had learned lessons from the siege of Paris in 1870, and decided to build a line of eighteen structures to keep any possible assailants at a distance. For the Fort at Sucy, it was a question of having, beneath its artillery fire, lines of penetration, consisting of trunk roads from Paris to Strasbourg (N°4) and Mulhouse (N° 19). In effect, from this position, the Prussians could bombard the St-Maur peninsula. It should also prevent the opening up of the Notre-Dame woods, an extension of the Armainvilliers forest, where the enemy could position itself in case of siege.
Built between 1879 and 1881, it cost almost 20,000 Euros and is constructed in stonework and protected by mounds of earth, that should allow it to be subjected to the impact of gun powder shelling, without suffering any damage. But very quickly, picric acid came to render these defences insufficient and the forts, though barely finished, had to be reinforced with concrete; most of the forts in the east had to do this. The 1911 project allowed for 4,300 Euros of modernisation works. Three concrete rampart shelters, two machine gun turrets and some observation posts were to be established. In 1914, the fort had only 14 cannons on the ramparts and 10 in its caponiers. Because of a lack of funds, the forts in the Ile-de-France were not modernised: In October 1913, it was planned to establish 75 mm anti-aircraft cannons on a base in the fort, but at the end of 1914 a 110 cm projector was installed; two 75 mm anti-aircraft guns were however installed in 1915.
Apart from the installation of heavy D.C.A. cannons around 1935, the Fort at Sucy was little used during the two world wars. Despite the destruction of the barracks' munitions depot on the 22nd August 1944, it has been left in perfect condition with its original features: entrance building, casemates in the trench and shooting galleries etc. Originally, this fort with a central section had a front, two flanks and a gorge in two parts, separated by a two caponiers, a basic one and one with a gorge; the whole thing was surrounded by a trench 9 metres wide. The double gorge caponier had the distinctive feature of being traversed by the entrance and attached to the front of the guard-house. The entrance was closed by a moving bridge and had a strange crenulated chest in front in the counterscarp. However, as the scarp was semi-detached and 4.5 m high, it was poorly protected from enemy shelling, which could graze the top of the counterscarp at a height of just 5 m. The ramparts had 11 cross-sections with shelters. Two cross-sections served as casemates for cannon. The barracks, situated under the central section with a magazine of 67 tonnes of gunpowder, could shelter 372 men and 10 officers, a tank and various magazines. Abandoned by the army and invaded by vegetation, it was bought by the town of Sucy in 1970. Since 1996, a voluntary association has been trying to make the Fort look as it did originally and bring it back to life.
The fort at Sucy-en-Brie allée du général Séré de Rivière 94370 Sucy en Brie "Fort de Sucy" Association 11, rue Lacarrière 94370 Sucy-en-Brie Tel.: 01.45.90.26.48Sucy-en-Brie Town Hall Tel. 01 49 82 24 50 Fax 01 49 82 24 61 Tours Guided tours on the first Sunday of every month at 3 pm. For groups (more than 15 people), booking is required.

Click here to tour Champigny Crypt online. Champigny-sur-Marne was often called Champigny-la-Bataille between 1870-1871 and 1914-1918, in reference to the fiercest battle of the Siege of Paris, which unfurled from 30 November to 2 December 1870.

The victims were given a decent and final funeral in community cemeteries around Champigny once peace was restored. Seine departmental authorities also decided to build a memorial to the memory of the unknown French and German soldiers that had died during that battle, and the French Government built a crypt around it. The several thousand soldiers that had fought each other outside, in other words, rest side by side within. Alfred Rivière, an architect, designed this memorial and supervised the building work.
This strikingly stark monument stands on a 925.75 sq m plot of land. A Lorraine-stone stele with a square base stands 5.75 metres high. A low pyramid stands on four heads, with leaves on the corner encircling the base with a crown. There is a shield protecting a palm leaf on the side facing the street. Bas-relief wreaths adorn the sides and back. There is one stark and concise inscription: Monument élevé par l'Etat à la mémoire des soldats morts pendant le siège de Paris bataille de Champigny (This monument was erected by the State to the memory of the soldiers that lay down their lives during the Siege of Paris, Battle of Champigny). The crypt is a vast rectangular gallery (2.60 metres wide) around the monument. The base at the back runs alongside the street and measures 30.5 metres. The widthways galleries that intersect it are 19.5 metres long each. These underground corridors nestle 31 vaults. Through a wrought-iron gate in the middle, you can see the stone altar of a small oratory. Belgian-granite plaque bear the names and numbers of the corps that took part.
Outside, a heavy iron fence embedded in stone pillars skirts the road and encloses the memorial. Two doors open into the galleries. Le talus of the platform covering the crypt is coated in stone along the galleries. It features two granite staircases which originally led to the garden, which has since become a terrace over the building and around the stele.
The ossuary's front wall has a stone plaque bearing the following inscription in French and German: Des combattants français et allemands inconnus tombés au cours de la bataille de Champigny-sur-Marne pendant le siège de Paris 1870-1871 reposent en cet ossuaire (French and German soldiers fallen during the battle of Champigny during the 1870-1871 siege of Paris rest in this ossuary).
Four period cannons stand on the four corners of the terrace. There are two similar cannons on either side of the front courtyard. There are three deep sloped and shouldered trenches around the building, adjoining the fences. The upper left-hand side has been turned into a grass garden terrace with trees, and there is a retaining wall by the road.
This building dates back to 1873. The crypt was built at a later stage and inaugurated on 2 December 1878. The governments of France and the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to fund necessary restoration work in 1968-1969 to keep alive the memory of their dead.
Champigny Crypt Memorial (Monument commémoratif de la crypte de Champigny) 32 Rue du Monument 94500 Champigny sur Marne

The Espace Aimé Césaire, a new exhibition space open to the public (click here for information)

The Musée de la Résistance Nationale (MRN) is a collective whose purpose is to cater for one essential need: to pass on the history and memory of the Resistance.

The museum space and learning area

This building, with 1 000 m2 of exhibition space on three floors and a 120-seat auditorium, houses the new museum and learning areas, as well as the temporary exhibitions of the new MRN.
The building’s ideal location in the centre of Champigny-sur-Marne makes the MRN more accessible by public transport and closer to its audience.
With its rich collection, the new permanent exhibition presents all the aspects and key issues of the history and remembrance of the Resistance. A cultural programme adds to the content on offer to visitors and individuals keen to gain a better understanding of modern-day issues in the light of that history.
The Espace Aimé Césaire also offers a scientific programme, making the latest advances in research more accessible.

Espace Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac: the research and conservation centre 

The continuing expansion of the collection since 1965 (approximately 250 000 items in 1985; nearly one million today) meant that new storage areas had to be provided for in the new museum buildings.
Therefore, the old site, on Avenue Marx-Dormoy, became a conservation and consultation centre for the collections, as well as the head office of the project’s two mother organisations.
Altogether, the MRN’s collection, which since November 2000 has been dependent on an agreement with the National Archives, was constituted by more than 5 000 donations. It offers an exceptional insight into the history of the French Resistance, its remembrance and the historical works it has inspired. Its scale and diversity present the stories of thousands of Resistance members: men and women; French citizens, immigrants and foreigners; famous and anonymous.

To fly like a bird and get closer to the stars the human dreamed, invented, then constructed any kind of machines : balloons, planes, helicopters, rockets, satellites. This is the history of a dream, which is finally attained and which is told by the air and space museums

The French air and space museum is the most ancient aeronautic museum of the world. It recounts the amazing adventure of the pioneers from the beginning of our century, the beginning of a long journey which will lead 50 years later the man to walk on the moon.
Created after the First World war it will be built in the Brouget airport in 1975. Since the opening of the great gallery where the most ancient machines are exhibited, and the inauguration in April 1995 of the two new halls, the air and space museum shows through a collection of almost 200 machines and 300 artistic objects a complete panorama of the aerospace, starting from the first balloons in 1793 and ending with the Ariane 5. rocket.
Address : Air and space museum (Musée de l'air et de l'espace) Airport Paris - Le Bourget BP 173 93 352 Le Bourget cedex Information : +33 (O)1 49 92 70 00 Home : +33 (O)1 49 92 70 62 E-mail : ecrire@museeairespace.fr Timetable : The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday : 10:00 to 18:00, 1 April to 30 September and from 10:00 to 17:00 from October 1 to March 31. Closed Mondays. Exceptional closing December 25 and January 1 Public Transports : Motorway: from the A1, exit Bourget; from the A3, exit Blanc-Mesnil RER (Train) : line B, stop "gare du Bourget" then take bus number 152. Subway : line 7. Tariffs : Access to permanent collections is free. For entertainment, visit the museum.

Built after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871, the Fort at Champigny-sur-Marne was intended for the protection of the capital. It forms part of the first defensive network designed by Séré de Rivières. It was built between 1878 and 1880 and has a surface area of 4 hectares. Its position was determined by lessons learned from the war: in December 1870 the Prussians had established two batteries just to the west of this site. Listed as of secondary importance by the legislation of 1874, its role was to block the railway line towards Troyes and to occupy the position of the Prussian batteries of 1870.

This fort with a central section is made up of a front, two flanks and a gorge. The trench, which is edged by a counterscarp and a semi-detached scarp, is separated by two caponiers, a basic one and one with a gorge. The ridge of the rampart is intersected by 13 cross sections, 6 of which have shelters. One of the northern cross sections houses the powder magazine (capacity of 80 tonnes). A passage underneath one of the southern cross sections was built in such a way as to serve as a casemate against indirect fire. The trench is crossed by a wooden bridge, but the entrance hall can be closed off by a retractable bridge and an armour-plated door.
The barracks enclose a cobbled courtyard. Half of it was housed on the ground floor, with men and sub-officers on the first floor, making a total capacity of 388 men, in addition to a cistern and various magazines. The guardhouse at the entrance is attached to the western part of the barracks, where officers were housed. The vaults are built of rough stone. The floors between levels are in brick. The 1911 project allowed 4300 Euros for modernisation works. Three concrete shelters on the ramparts, two machine-gun turrets and observation points were to be established. In 1914, the fort held no more than 10 cannons on the ramparts and 10 in the caponiers.
During the First World War its batteries, armed with ten 12 to 15 cm weapons, fired across the Avron plateau. The quarries were used to shelter troops, provisions and an ambulance. From 1939 to 1940 the fort was occupied by anti-aircraft defence units. There was a fire in the barracks in July 1944. The fort was declassified in 1965 and handed over to the land administration department in 1974. It was registered by ministerial decree on the 16th May 1979 on the Secondary List of Historical Monuments. Since 1984, it has been undergoing restoration.
Fort at Champigny-sur-Marne 140 bis, rue Aristide-Briand 94430 Chennevières-sur-Marne Tel.: 01.45.94.74.74 e-mail: communication@ville-chennevières.fr Bus stop: "Fort de Champigny" Guided tours Saturdays and Sundays 3 pm to 5 pm Free entry

The Fort of the Bull (Fort du Taureau) is a splendid citadel on an island in the Bay of Morlaix, in French Finistère. Its unusual tale spans back over four centuries. Building work began circa 1542 to protect Morlaix and its people from pillaging assailants. Back in 1522, the English had sailed up the Dossen river to the estuary by Morlaix to loot the town. They were finally expelled by the town's people, who decided to fund and build this fort on the estuary's mouth to forestall future attacks, twenty years later. Until Louix XIII's reign, fort governors were ennobled ex-officio (and Morlaix's townsmen understandably vied fiercely for the job). The wall shielding that original fort was 6.50 metres high (the one you see today is twice as high).

In 1661, however, Louis XIV decreed that the fort was to become crown property, turned it into a State prison, and set up a garrison there. However, in those belligerent days, Brittany was in a valuable strategic position (it was near England). Accordingly, Vauban, a military engineer, decided to strengthen the fort in 1680. It was completely rebuilt (except for the Tour Française) into a larger and sturdier stronghold. The building was mostly made of granite from Callot, a neighbouring island. It is practically the same shape and size as the island: it is oblong, 60 long, and 12 metres wide. The walls are 12 metres high and the buildings span 1,450 sq m. There are 11 pillboxes, each of which can house a cannon. The fort also counts soldier and officer quarters, two dungeons, a mess, a kitchen, a chapel and latrines.
However, before rebuilding work was completed - and owing to Morlaix's gradual decline in prominence - this fortress was turned into a prison in 1721. Louis Auguste Blanqui, a well-known communard, was its last inmate until his release in 1871. The fort was disarmed in 1890 and became an historical monument in 1914. The Vilmorin family spent their summer holidays there in the 1930s and it housed a sailing school from the 1960s until 1980.
The fort's state of disrepair prompted local and central-government authorities to start restoration work in 1998. The chateau was transferred to the public realm in 2004.
1542: The first fort was funded and built by the people of Morlaix. 1689: Vauban, France's foremost military engineer in his day, visited the fort for the first time. 1745: Reconstruction work ended. 1871: Communard Louis-Auguste Blanqui, the fort's last prisoner, was released. 1890: The fort was disarmed. 1914: The chateau was listed as an Historical Monument. 1930: Mélanie de Vilmorin rented the chateau for family holidays through 1937. 1982: The sailing school founded in 1960 closed down.
Tourist Offices (enquiries) Carantec: +33 (0) 298.670.043 Booking tickets +33 (0) 298.622.973 Morlaix: +33 (0) 298.621.494 e-mail: Tourisme@morlaix.cci.fr Plougasnou Saint-Jean-du-Doigt Plouezoc'h: +33 (0) 298.673.188

Built in 1918 to house French colonial troops, principally Senegalese, at the end of the First World War Camp Vernet became a holding place for German and Austrian prisoners of war.

Between the two world wars, it served as a military depot before it was put to new use, in February 1939. Following the defeat of the Spanish Republican Army, it held thousands of Spanish civilians and soldiers seeking refuge in France where public opinion and political class was split between the political right’s fear of communism and solidarity among the left-wing parties for the Republican cause.

Its purpose changed under the Vichy regime when it was made a repressive camp for suspect foreigners. In total, some 40,000 men, women and children were interned at Camp Vernet including volunteers of international brigades fighting in the Spanish Civil War, Spanish Republicans, Jews, Italians, Russians, anti-Nazi Germans, Romanians, Yugoslavians and 10 other nationalities.

Between 1942 and 1944, six convoys were deported from this camp to Auschwitz, Avrigny and Dachau.

Camp Vernet Museum

Vernet town hall - 09700 Le Vernet 

Tel: +33 (0)5 61 68 36 43

Opening times

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8.30 am to 12 pm and 2-5 pm, and Wednesday mornings

Saverdun Tourist Information Office

Aire de Périès 09700 Saverdun

Tel: +33 (0)5 61 60 09 10 - Fax: +33 (0)5 61 60 99 91

Email: Communaute.commune@cc-pays-saverdun.fr

Association of Political and Resistance Veterans interned at Camp Vernet

AAI du Camp du Vernet d'Ariège - 09700 Le Vernet d'Ariège

Email: amicale@campduvernet.eu

Le Vernet Internment Camp

Source: Cohen, Monique-Lise and Malo, Eric, dir., Les camps du sud-ouest de la France 1939-1944. Exclusion, internement, déportation, Toulouse, Privat, 1994 - PESCHANSKI, Denis, La France des Camps: l'internement 1936-1946, Paris

Château de La Hille in Montégut-Plantaurel, near Pailhès, preserves the memory of one of the darkest episodes in the history of Ariège; a hundred Jewish children, aged between 5 and 16, were the victims of the Vichy administration. Having become orphans following the Crystal Night and the wave of anti-Semitic operations that spread across Nazi Germany, a number of Jewish German children fled to England, Belgium and France where they were taken in by charitable organisations.

Chased out of Belgium by the Wehrmacht offensive in May 1940, a hundred of them, after a six-day journey in animal lorries, reached Villefranche de Lauragais and then Seyre. On their arrival, they were taken in by the mayor, the château owner and the French Red Cross. The lack of food and the harsh winter of 1940-1941 forced the group to go to Château de La Hille in Montégut-Plantaurel, half way between Toulouse and the principality of Andorra.

In the summer of 1941, due to the intervention of the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers), 20 of the youngest were taken to the United States and two others were saved by relatives in America.

In August 1942, the forty-five oldest were arrested by French police and interned in the Le Vernet camp. The Swiss government intervened and secured their release from Vichy. The children then tried to flee to Switzerland with the help of the headmistress and Anne-Marie Piguet (the head of an escape network to Switzerland).

Those who were held back by border guards and returned to La Hille tried to reach Spain over the Pyrenees. Those less fortunate were sold by people-smugglers to the Germans and Franco before being deported. Others ended up joining the French maquis (resistance fighters). A commemorative stele was erected on 17 September 2000 and a museum relating the history has been set up in the château.

As a reminder of the role of a safe haven, a monument to the Rights of Man was erected on common land in 1993.

A commemorative plaque in the château

The wording on the commemorative plaque mounted near Château de La Hille tells of the journey taken by the German Jewish children persecuted by the Nazi regime who became victims of the Vichy administration, many of whom survived thanks to the support of the Red Cross and local residents. Jacques Roth, a former resident and now a writer, was the author:

"In the darkest hours of the 20th century, the five hundred year old Château de la Hille provided a haven of peace for a hundred Jewish refugee children from Germany, fleeing from the terror and racial hatred which was spreading in waves across Holland, Belgium and a large part of France. Having arrived at the château in 1941, they lived there surrounded by the benevolence of the local residents and in the good care of a group of young Swiss Red Cross workers, Aid to Children: Maurice and Eléonore Dubois, Rösli Näf, Eugen Lyrer and Emma Ott. Their only too brief respite ended with the raids of August 1942, when the forty or so over sixteen years old were arrested by the police and taken to the le Vernet Camp in Ariège, the first stage of their journey to the death camps to which they were destined. Alerted to the fact, Mister Dubois, the director of the organisation, came immediately to Vichy where he managed to break down the door of the highest State police officer and succeeded in rescuing "his children", as well as the adults accompanying them, from deportation. The "Hillois" were able to return to their château. However, the feeling of security never returned. In November 1942, with the arrival of German troops across the whole country and sensing the threat once again, the older ones started to disperse. Twenty-five of them tried to reach Switzerland. Twenty succeeded but five were arrested. Ten sought their salvation by taking the shortest route over the Pyrenees but five did not make it. Others were taken in by local farmers. Some of the young girls found sanctuary in a convent. Some joined the maquis and one of them was killed by enemy bullets. Of the ten "Hillois" deported to Auschwitz, just one survived. Throughout its history, the château has never been the setting for an armed battle, but in this last episode it was witness to the victory of humanity over barbarity. The elders of la Hille say thank you to it, as well as to the residents of Montégut Plantaurel and its surrounding area."

Mairie of Montégut-Plantaurel

09120 Montégut-Plantaurel

Tel.: + 33 (0) 5 61 05 35 83

e-mail: mairie.montegut-plantaurel@wanadoo.fr

Varilhes Tourist Information Office

3 avenue Louis-Siret

09120 VARILHES

Tel.: + 33 (0) 5.61.60.55.54

Fax: + 33 (0) 5.61.60.55.54

e-mail: office-tourisme.varilhes@wanadoo.fr

The museum is a collection of souvenirs from a life devoted to medicine, literature and rugby.

While he was studying medicine, in 1899, he became passionate about a sport known as barette, which we now know as rugby.

His love for this sport led to him founding the Pyérénes League and to pen, under the moniker ‘La Sélouze’, a number of columns in the La Dépêche du Midi and the Le Midi Olympique regional newspapers.

He commissioned the Monument to Sport in Toulouse in homage to the victims of war.

Le conflit terminé, il rassemble ses notes dans "Avec la 67ème Division de réserve", grand prix de l'Académie Française.

Auteur de cinquante et un ouvrages, cet humaniste s'est consacré à la neuro-psychiatrie. 

Chef de clinique à Toulouse en 1914, il exerce sur le front en tant que responsable d'une ambulance de campagne.

Son action dans le domaine littéraire le conduit à tenir des rubriques dans le Mercure de France, le Figaro etc.

Il se lie d'amitié avec Paul Léautaud, Paul Valéry, François Mauriac, Francis Carcot, Marie de Saint Exupéry, Camille Mauclair notamment. 

When the war was over, he compiled his notes in the four-volume Avec la 67ème Division de réserve, which won the Grand Prix from the Académie Française.

An author of some 51 works, this humanist dedicated his career to neuropsychiatry.

A clinic manager in Toulouse in 1914, he worked on the front as a manager of a field hospital.

His literary experience saw him write columns in the Mercure de France, Le Figaro and other newspapers.

He forged friendships with writer and theatre critic Paul Léautaud, poet and philosopher Paul Valéry, writer François Mauriac, writer and journalist Francis Carcot, Marie de Saint Exupéry and poet and novelist Camille Mauclair. 

The museum has on display a collection of original documents, manuscripts, photographs, watercolours, sculptures and souvenirs of the Great War, testaments to the life of a man committed to many causes.

Paul Voivenel Museum

09400 Capoulet-et-Junac

Tel: +33 (0)5 61 05 12 57 / 67 79

Email: capoulet.junac@wanadoo.fr

Source: MINDEF/SGA/DMPA

This vast building behind a glass front is nestled in greenery and overlooks the valley below. It towers skyward a stone's throw from Schirmeck. And it casts light on one of history's rambling episodes, and on the suffering and self-sacrifice that episode brought upon thousands of men, women and children. The amazing architecture and setting convey the oft-misconstrued story of an area that jolted from one country to another as the border it skirts shifted. The 3000 sq m museum casts light on this hazy period between 1870 and the aftermath of WWII, which weighs upon this region's identity. And, as efforts to reconcile France and Germany were born from efforts to root peace across Europe, this memorial also showcases the foundations of European construction.

When you leave the glass-walled hall, you get the feeling you are descending into history's depths. At the foot of the sombre steps, you will find a staggering, cathedral-sized room. The 12-metre-high walls on either side bear 148 portraits of men and women from Alsace and Moselle, spanning every generation and every walk of life. They all have names. It might be someone's piercing gaze, engaging hairdo or original dress, but something will no doubt catch your eye. But this room, first and foremost, will put a face on textbook history. The stories this memorial tells, in other words, are not about statistics and remote people in a remote land. They are about children, grandparents, young women. About the children, grandparents and young women in that room. They will speak to you over the audio guide. They speak French, German and Alsatian. They tell you what happened over those 70 dissonant years. They tell you their story.
Hitler's shuddering voice rings out as you step into a rebuilt village station. Posters luring you to tourist destinations hang alongside evacuation orders. You take a seat in a train packed with luggage and personal belongings. A film on the wagon wall shows how 430,000 of Alsace's and Moselle's people were transferred to Southwest France. On the opposite wall, a corridor leads to a fort on the Maginot Line. The white walls strewn with electric wires, floor tracks, dormitories and armoured doors explain are chilling. The instructions aimed at drafted soldiers, speech excerpts and images from the front exude this peculiar war's atmosphere.
After the documents stating the terms of the occupation and de-facto annexation under the Third Reich, you will walk into a circling corridor displaying street name boards. The first ones are in French first, the last ones in German. The flags parading overhead surreptitiously transmute from France's red, white and blue to swastikas.
Then you reach a forward-tilting typically Germanic building. The only way forward is through this oppressive, half-prison, half-bureaucratic universe. Desks on either side show the population brought to heel and enlisted by force. Struthof Camp bodes ill at a distance.
The barbed wire, army camps, pale lights and watchtowers in the next room will give you a glimpse of what concentration camps felt like. Photos, papers and audiovisual documents in this bleak universe also speak of the resistance and of escaping into France.
You walk across this vast room on a 3.5-metre-high footbridge. The Vosges forest pines underfoot are a reminder that people crossing the border over the neighbouring heights were doing so illicitly. The scenery is scarred by war. Bombs have disfigured the land. Everything is littered with disfigured bicycles and car wrecks, strewn petrol drums, and such like debris. Bombers tear through the sky. A house crumbles. And images on the wall speak of the German retreat and the Landings. Liberation nears.
The next room is much more soothing. The floor is even. Towering columns mirror the return of justice and truth. This room tells the story of the Oradour massacre trials in Bordeaux. The red walls seem lined with drawers holding the hundreds of files under review. A well of images shows the process and purge.
The room before last is white and bathed in light. It is a breath of fresh air. Lit blocks show French- German reconciliation and European construction. This soothing and cheerful room leads to a projection room screening a film by Alain Jérôme. Then, you walk back into the vast transparent hall and esplanade, whence you can look out onto stunning views over the Vosges massif. And, across the valley, see Struthof camp and the European Centre on Resistance and Deportation (Centre Européen du Résistant Déporté).
Opening hours The Alsace Moselle Memorial is open from 10.00 am to 6.30 pm in winter and from 10.00 am to 7.00 pm in summer. Tickets are on sale until one hour before closing time. Admission Full fare: €10 Reduced fare: €8 Families (two adults and children): €23 Tours with audio guides Disabled-visitor access Shop Bar / Tearoom Educational Office - Workshops The Educational Office caters for school groups (with an educational director and assigned professor).

The neoclassical building housing the Navy Halls (Hôtel de la Marine) stands behind one of the two monumental colonnades facing Place de la Concorde on either side of Rue Royale. These two colonnades were inspired by the ones that Claude Perrault, an architect, designed for the Louvre Palace's eastern range. The vaulted gallery on the ground floor holds up twelve columns with Corinthian capitals, which frame the central loggia. The pavilions on either corner feature four Corinthian columns supporting pediments decorated by Sebastien Slodtz and Nicolas Coustou, two sculptors. Balustrades connect the two pediments.

This building was designed around the main courtyard (called the Cour d'Estienne d'Orves). A hall across this courtyard leads to the Grand Degré staircase leading up to the halls and galleries on the first floor. The Navy Halls (Hôtel de la Marine) was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, King Louis XV's chief architect. and built between 1757 and 1774. It was part of much vaster plans to develop the "Fondrière" area (Place de la Concorde today) around a statue of Louis XV. The building was originally used to store royal palace furniture. It was later used as a museum where the public could see the royal quarters' finest (and carefully-kept and restored) furniture, tapestry, light fittings and decorations. That is why the Navy Halls looked more like a museum than what we would imagine when we think of a furniture warehouse today. As an aside, a number of pieces were stolen in 1792. The Navy Ministry moved to this building in 1789 and the Navy's High Command have used it as part it its headquarters since (despite changing scope and name in step with France's evolving political and military history). Part of the French Navy's High Command is headquartered in the Navy Halls. This building has been entrusted to the Ministry of Defence. France's Defence and Culture ministries signed an agreement to restore it, on 17 September 2005.
Navy Halls (Hôtel de la Marine) Place de la Concorde Cultural and Museum Initiative Authority (Bureau des actions culturelles et muséographiques) e-mail: dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr