The Palais du Pharo is an elegant imperial palace in Marseille. It was built in 1858 by Emperor Napoleon III for Empress Eugénie. The emperor never stayed at the Pharo. After his death in 1873, his wife, Empress Eugenie, granted the palace to the city.
In 1904, it was transformed into a specialised establishment: the Pharo School. Its full name was first the Colonial Troops Health Service Application School, then it evolved into the Institute of Tropical Medecine of the Army Health Service. Until 2013, when it was finally closed, and for more than 100 years, the Pharo welcomed 8,000 doctors, pharmacists, and civilian or military technicians called upon to practice medecine in the overseas territories. It was even the only military institute in Europe specialising in the field of tropical medecine.
Château de Niort is a medieval castle in the French town of Niort. It consists of two square towers, linked by a 15th-century building and dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.
The two donjons are the only remaining part of the castle. The castle was started by Henry II Plantagenet in the 12th century and completed by Richard the Lionheart. It was defended by a rectangular curtain wall and was damaged during the Wars of Religion. In the 18th century, the castle served as a prison.
The present keeps were the central point of a massive fortress. The southern keep is 28m tall, reinforced with turrets. The northern tower is slightly shorter at 23m. Both are flanked with circular turrets at the corners as well as semicircular buttresses. Each of the towers has a spiral staircase serving the upper floors. The Romanesque architecture is of a high quality with the dressed stones closely jointed.