France - one huge world heritage site?

14 sites across France have recently been submitted for World Heritage status with UNESCO...

The sites, all of which are citadels and fortifications, were built by Marshal Vauban, Louis XIV's most valued military engineer, and have been put forward to UNESCO to mark the tricentenary of his death.

The sites include St Malo in Brittany, Besancon's citadel and a mountain fort in Briancon, which is the highest town in Europe.

Vauban is famed for having designed and built ground-breaking fortifications and has been referred to as history's greatest builder and conqueror of fortified places.

Born a commoner, he worked his way up through the ranks of the army by merit alone and although his remains were scattered during the revolution, his heart was placed in Les Invalides in Paris by Napoleon a hundred years later; a great honour indeed.

In fact, France already contains 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Pont du Gard, Chartres Cathedral and the Loire Valley. With such a rich array of sites of global importance, France contains something to interest every visitor, and these proposed additional sites can only add to the attraction.

Source: www.vefuk.co.uk