France - Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the department of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Between 1309 and 1377 during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon. The town was sold to the papacy by Countess Jeanne of Provencein 1348. Papal control persisted until 1791 when during the French Revolution it became part of France. The town is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts. The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the Saint-Bénézet Bridge, was classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.
View from Avignon, UNESCO

Fort Boyard is a fort located between the Île-d'Aix and the Île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche straits, on the west coast of France Though a fort on Boyard bank was suggested as early as the 17th century, it was not until the 1800s under Napoleon Bonaparte that work began. Building started in 1801 and was completed in 1857. In 1967, the final scene of the French film Les aventuriers was filmed at the remains of the fort. Fort Boyard is oblong-shaped, 68 metres (223 ft) long and 31 m (102 ft) wide. The walls were built 20 m (66 ft) high. At the centre is a yard, and the ground floor provided stores and quarters for the men and officers. The floor above containedcasemates for the emplacements of guns and further quarters. Above that were facilities for barbette guns and mortars