Fort Bard

Few fortresses can claim to have held up Napoleon, but the garrison at Bard did exactly that in May 1800, delaying the French army's advance into Italy for about two weeks. Napoleon had the old fort razed in response. The House of Savoy rebuilt it in the 1830s, and that massive barrier fortress still blocks the narrow Aosta Valley above the medieval village of Bard. Signs refer to it as Forte di Bard.

After decades of military use and neglect, the fort was restored and reopened as a cultural centre. Its separate defensive blocks, set at different levels on the rock, now house several museums. The Museum of the Alps covers mountain landscapes, wildlife and life at altitude. The Museum of the Fortifications and Frontiers traces the valley's strategic history, and the old prison cells can also be visited. A children's museum is aimed at younger visitors. Across the site the museums hold some 3,000 objects, and large temporary exhibitions draw more than 280,000 visitors a year.