Fort du Mont Alban — Attraction in Nice

Superb octogonal fortress built at the top of the Mont Boron's hill 220 meters above sea level. It offers a superb panoramic view of the surroundings : the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer and the Italian borders on one side, the Bay of Nice and the Estérel on the other.

In the middle of the 16th century, Nice was one of the essential points of the Savoy States Defense system in the face of Turkish invaders, allied with the French since 1543. The Rade de Villefranche-sur-Mer, because of its depth and sheltered situation, is the main commercial port of the region until the opening of the Port of Nice in the 18th century. It was also the Savoy War Port for four centuries.

In 1557, the Fort du Mont-Alban was built on the orders of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoie. This massive work is designed as a complement to the fortresses of Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, and to control their connection: north of Mont Boron, the Fort du Mont-Alban flanks the Citadel Saint-Elme and the Dars of Villefranche-sur-Mer built at the same time, and protects the west...

Amazing views. Go here if you want to see amazing views of Nice and toward Monaco. The fort itself at the top of the mountain is neat, but really it won't keep you occupied for long. You can see a single structure, walking around the outside. Neat to ponder over, snap a few pictures. You are really going for the breathtaking 360 views. We walked up. Google walking directions laregly did the trick to get us up there. Wasn't super difficult to do the walk but you need to be relatively fit. There are some streets with no sidewalks. There is parking at the top and I saw people just parking along the side of the road near the top. There is also a nice picnic area. There is no food, water or cantine so bring your own supplies. It takes maybe 20-30 mins to walk up from the base...

The view is fantastic! The site is physically very cool. You cannot enter into the fort, you can only walk around it and look at the walls from the outside. ( I read somewhere that yiou can book a tour into the fort, perhaps via the Nice City Office or similar.) The site is not very kept up, it is not super clean (but little is at rje Riviera) and there is no seating near the fort. There is ample seating on the way up, by the first parking maybe 200 m from the fort. We brought our own kit to sit on and found a nice spot in the shade, with a great view and some breeze. Recommended to have atleast a quick stroll and enjoy the view over Ville-Franche sur mer. The car trip up is not so long, take it on a nice day from the beach,...