walking

Whether you come here simply to relax and enjoy the breathtaking views or are looking for thrills and excitement, St André and the surrounding area is perfect for the whole family.
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There are wonderful walks straight from your apartment, paragliding and hangliding from the local mountain tops, skiing in the winter and sailing in the summer. The region offers a wealth of outdoor pursuits guaranteed to satisfy all ages.

We have tried to cover all the local and regional activities available but if you think of something not listed here, just let us know and we will do our utmost to find it for you! In addition, Nature Elements are a small company based in St André who are able to help you book different activities in this region.
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Canoeing

Cycling

Swimming/Diving

Windsurfing

Adventure Parks

Beauvezer is a pretty village around 30 minutes drive from St André that has a suspended adventure park in the trees which is great fun for all ages!

Archery

We have an archery set and target which can be used in our garden

Astronomy

The clear, starry night skies in this region are breathtaking. You can star gaze from our garden using our Sky Guide book or visit the Observatory near the Gorges de Verdon for a night time star gazing session

Ballooning

Take to the skies over the Lubéron valley to enjoy magnificent aerial views of Provence followed by champagne on landing.

Boules

This typical Provencal game can be played in the car parking area at the house (we have a set of boules and instructions) or why not pick up some tips watching the locals playing every afternoon in the town?

Bungee Jumping

Bungee jumps (sauts a l'élastique) are possible from Europe's highest bridge (182m) Pont de l'Artuby on the south rim of the Gorges de Verdon. It is also possible to jump from the Pont de la Mariee, an 80m high stone footbridge across the Gorges de Dalius.

Canoeing, Canyoning and White Water Rafting

This region offers fantastic white-water rafting, canoeing, kayaking and canyoning terrain. Most of the outdoor activity places have a base in Castellane and trips usually need to be booked in advance and you have to know how to swim.

Climbing

Annot is only a 30 minute drive away and offers plenty of excellent, shaded climbing on its countless sandstone cliffs and boulders. This website has excellent information on the different climbs and levels of difficulty.

Cycling

Cycling is extremely popular in this region due to the weather and beautiful scenery. We have bikes available to hire, with many fantastic routes straight from the house and we are able to provide local maps detailing routes in this region. Many tourism offices also sell cycling itineraries compiled by the local cycling clubs.

Cyclists can also cross the Parc Naturel du Lubéron following a marked route that stretches over 100km.

Fishing

You can buy a fishing permit from the tourism office or newsagents in town and fish in the river and lake, just a few minutes walk from the house. L'Issole river, which flows under the iron bridge leading up to the house, is well stocked with trout while the lake has many types of fish including pike, perch, carp and trout.

Fossils / Geology

The Réserve Géologique de Haute-Provence covers an area of 190,000 hectares around Digne les Bains and is the largest protected area of its type in Europe . It has spectacular fossil deposits which include ammonites and footprints of prehistoric birds. There are 18 main sites and one of the main ones is on the Barle road, north of Digne-les-Bains, is a limestone slab with over 500 ammonites. You can also fossil hunts in the stones around La Plaine - we are amassing quite a collection from those collected whilst out and about.

Gastronomy

Breakfast can be bought from one of the Boulangeries in town and enjoyed as a picnic by the lake watching the sunrise. Lunch in Provence is usually the main meal of the day and starts at noon on the dot and often continues well into the afternoon! Most places stop serving around 2.30pm and dinner normally starts at around 7.30pm . There is usually nowhere open to eat between 3 - 7pm. There are a number of good local restaurants and we would be happy to make recommendations / reservations for you.

Golfing

Our friends own the magnificent Chateau Taulane hotel and golf course which is about a 40 minute drive from St André. Rates are available for a days golfing on request.

Hiking

The South of France is one of the finest places in the world for hiking and St André and its surrounding countryside is no exception, with walks to suit all levels of fitness. The variety and different types of walks are too many to mention here, but we have plenty of maps, books and recommendations, and many can be done direct from our back door. There are also fantastic hikes in the Gorges de Verdon for the more experienced walkers. There are a number of certified guides based in Digne les Bains who offer organised hikes in the area.

Walks around St.André

Helicopter Rides

Take a memorable flight over the Cote d'Azur in a helicopter for a unique bird's eye view of the coastline.

Horseback Riding

There is an excellent stable (Ecurie de Chambaresc) about 25 minutes drive from St André with treks through the beautiful Tartonne valley. Horse riding is also available in Castellane

Kiting/Buggying/Mountain Boarding

We have a number of Ozone land kites ( www.flyozone.com ) which, on a windy day, are great fun to fly on the paragliding landing field which can be seen from the house.

Motorbike Touring

The roads in this area are fantastic for touring on the back of a motorbike. You can retrace Napoléon's steps along the famous Route Napoléon or take an exhilarating circuit of the Gorges du Verdon - around 140km of mountainous roads and hairpin bends.

Museums

There are a number of interesting local museums to cater for all interests, along with some excellent museums further a field in Nice

Castellane

Museum of the Resistance
Fossils from the sea
Museum tracing the history of the Citroen motor car

Digne les Bains

The Alexandra David-Néel Museum
Gassendi Museum
2 nd World War Museum
Religious Art Museum

Painting

The intensity and clarity of light in this region attracted many painters such as Cézanne, Van Gogh and Matisse and the scenery around our house is the perfect excuse to follow in their footsteps!

Paragliding / Hangliding

St André is a mecca for paragliding and hangliding pilots and the Chalvet mountain that they fly from, can be seen from our garden making it an excellent spectator sport for those not wishing to partake! You can book a tandem paraglider flight at the local flying school and experience an evening flight watching the sun set over the lake. It is also possible to enrol on a course to learn to fly a paraglider, with the training slopes situated just behind our house.

A little further a-field is Ascendance flying school in Gourdon (north of Grasse ) which also offers lessons and tandem flights

Sailing

St Julien du Verdon (a ten minute drive from St André) is situated right on the edge of the Lac de Castillon and has an excellent sailing club where you can hire boats.

Shopping

There is excellent shopping to be found down on the Cote D'Azur . Nice, St Tropez and Monaco can all be reached by either car or train for a day of retail therapy. Nice has the excellent out of town shopping centre 'Cap 3000' right next to the airport with a large Galeries Lafyette and free parking.

Socialising

For us, one of the pleasures of welcoming people to our house is the opportunity for socialising! We would be happy to arrange a BBQ or pizza evening (using our own authentic pizza oven) followed by star gazing on the terraces, warming your toes next to the fire pits.

Spas

The thermal baths at Digne-les-Bains are open 10 months a year, and more than 10,000 people come to take the waters every year. The waters emerge into the open air at a temperature of nearly 40°. They contain sulphur, sodium and chlorine, and are recommended for respiratory complaints and rheumatology.

Skiing / Snowboarding / Sledging

Val d'Allos has two ski resorts - Seignus at 1,500m and la Foux at 1,800m. The ESPACE LUMIERE linking the Foux d'Allos and Pra-Loup skiing areas has created one of the largest skiing areas in the Southern Alps , providing over 200km of pistes. It is a family resort with little of the glamour and glitz of the more fashionable better-known resorts, but is more reasonably priced and you don't have to queue for hours to get on the lifts. The resort normally opens from December through till April/May depending on the snow.

Swimming

Lac de Castillon is a short drive from the house and is fantastic for swimming in the summer. The aqua green water is crystal clear and there is a life guard on duty during July and August at the swimming area by the main car park where you can also hire pedalos. You can swim anywhere in the lake and it is never a problem to find a secluded spot to picnic and swim in the summer. Castellane also has an open air heated pool which is open in the summer. Digne les Bains has a summer outdoor pool and an indoor heated swimming pool

Table Football

We have a table football at the house which you are welcome to use.

Tennis

There is a small local tennis club in St André with courts next to the river.

Trial Biking

We have trial bikes at the house which are available for hire but are done so entirely at your own risk. This can be a dangerous sport but for more experienced riders, there are some wonderful rides to discover. You can also take lessons and hire bikes at the excellent trial biking centre, Boade, which is about a 20 minute drive from St André.

Via Ferrata

Via Ferrata is a new mountain sport which was first created in Italy . A suitable cliff is equipped with holds and rungs with strong cables alongside the route, turning the cliff into a vertical playground. You can try out this new sport at Puget-Théniers (approx 45 minutes drive from St André) with an excellent description and photos given on the attached link

Via Souterrata

This is an underground version of Via Ferrata and you can experience the world's first Via Souterrata in the caves at La Mouliere.

Windsurfing

The lake stretches for about 15kms and is ideal for windsurfing and the lack of large waves makes good conditions for beginners.

Wine Tasting

A day trip to Drauginan (40km from St Tropez) will allow you to visit two excellent vineyards in the surrounding villages where you can taste, buy and learn more about Côtes de Provence wines.

Yoga

The peaceful surroundings of La Plaine are perfect to practise your yoga outside with the added benefit of breathing the crisp, clean, unpolluted, alpine air.