Chambéry

Historic capital of the duchy of Savoy before Turin took that status from it in the sixteenth century, Chambéry occupies a remarkable site at the confluence of several pre-Alpine valleys, encircled by the wooded massifs of the Bauges and Chartreuse. The castle of the dukes of Savoy, a vast medieval and Renaissance ensemble now housing the prefecture, overlooks the old town, whose arcaded streets and inner courtyards recall the Italian influence of this former princely court. The Elephants fountain, an extravagant nineteenth-century monument raised in homage to a governor of the Indies native to the town, has become Chambéry's undisputed emblem, while the pedestrian lanes of the historic centre, punctuated by vaulted passages, invite strolling among shops and coloured façades.

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