Remparts du Petit Bayonne, Medieval ramparts in Petit Bayonne, France.

The remparts du Petit Bayonne form the southeastern stretch of Bayonne's city wall, facing the Adour. The line is built of stone bastions linked by curtain walls, with embrasures for cannon and a walkway behind the parapet. The wall rises directly from the riverbank, and its profile still marks the edge of the Petit Bayonne quarter.

The ramparts of Petit Bayonne were built from the 14th century onward, when the Adour was diverted to flow past the town, and were strengthened in the 16th and 17th centuries with bastions and a moat fed by the river. Vauban inspected and improved the works in 1685, giving the sector its later outline.

The ramparts take their name from the Petit Bayonne district they enclose, on the left bank of the Adour opposite Grand Bayonne. The bastions, designed by Vauban's school, now frame riverside walks and the quays where the Nive meets the Adour.

You can walk the exterior paths around the fortification on most days, with additional sections opening to the public during Heritage Days in September. The late afternoon is often the best time to visit, as the paths are typically less crowded then.

The Petit Bayonne ramparts were built on the orders of Vauban after 1680, and their bastions still carry the names of the engineers who designed them. Look for the masonry embrasures facing the Adour: these openings let defenders fire along the river without exposing themselves on the rampart walk.