What is the capital city of the Hautes-Alpes department in France? The capital is Gap.
Gap is the prefecture and administrative capital of Hautes-Alpes, a department in southeastern France. It lies in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, in the French Alps, and is the department’s most populous city, with about 41,000 residents in recent population figures.
At roughly 750 metres above sea level, Gap is known as France’s highest prefecture. Its mountain setting places it south of the Écrins Massif and near major Alpine valleys and routes. The city also gives its name to the arrondissement of Gap, one of the department’s two arrondissements.
Hautes-Alpes was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, as one of France’s original departments. Briançon is another important city in the department and serves as its sole subprefecture, but it is not the departmental capital. Marseille and Nice are major cities in the same region, while Grenoble is a separate city in the neighboring Isère department.