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There are many excellent local and regional sights to see - far too many to list on our website. The Fodors online guide has excellent information on this region including hotels and suggested day trip itineraries - simply type in the name of the place you want to visit http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/index.cfm?destscope=europe Also http://www.beyond.fr/ is an excellent website with information on each town. Here is an idea of the some of the places you could visit whilst staying with us
REGIONAL ATTRACTIONSCote d'Azur (Nice is 1 ½ hours drive from St André) The Cote d'Azur or French Riviera stretches along France 's Mediterranean coast to the Italian border. Nice is known as the capital of the Cote d'Azur with its fantastical turn of the century architecture, art museums and buzzing cultural scene. It also makes a good base to explore the rest of the Cote d'Azur as it has excellent rail links along the coast to places such as Monaco , Antibes , Cannes and St Tropez all with excellent shopping! You could take a day trip down to Nice on the Chemin de Fer mountain railway www.trainprovence.com and, if you wanted to explore the region more fully, base yourself there for a few nights and stay in one of the plentiful hotels with accommodation to suit all price ranges. http://www.nicetourism.com/GB/som.html
Italy (Italian border is around 2 hours drive from St André) As we are based in the far South Eastern corner of France , the Italian border is just a short drive away (around 2 hours drive from St André) and the coastline drive from Nice to Monaco then across into Italy is breathtaking.
Lavender Routes Lavender is the one aroma associated with Provence and the lavender fields are a spectacular sight. The flower is harvested when in full bloom between 15 th July and 15 th August and the Fetes de Lavande (lavender festival) is celebrated with a five day Corso de la Lavande (lavender carnival) which starts the first weekend of August.
Lubéron (around 2 hours drive from St André) The Lubéron valley (Peter Mayle country) with Manosque town acting as the perfect stepping stone between the Lubéron and Haute-Provence. The entire Lubéron region is criss crossed with fantastic walking trails and a 100km long marked cycle route across the Parc Naturel du Lubéron. Unlike Haute-Provence most of its lower lying land is farmed, forming a rich patchwork of vineyards, lavender fields, olive groves and fruit farms. http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/groupes/luberon/luberon.htm
Les Mees (around 1 hours drive from St André) Les Penitents des Mees are rows of columnar rocks 2kms long and over 200m high. Legend has it that that rocks represent the Monks of the Lure Mountain who fell in love with a beautiful Mauresque woman who had been taken captive by a lord after a crusade in the 6 th century. Their punishment was to be turned into rock by a hermit called Saint Donat.
Grasse (around 1 ½ hours drive from St André) Grasse was founded by the Romans and has distinct re and orange tiled roofs with magnificent views across the Mediterranean towards Cannes . For centuries Grasse has been one of France 's leading centres of perfume production and there are 40 parfumeries in operation today. The Fragonard museum and perfumerie are well worth a visit, as are the Galimard and Molinard sites.
Reserve Geologique de Haute-Provence The Haute-Provence Geological Reserve covers an area of 190,000 hectares around Digne les Bains an is the largest protected area of it's type in Europe . It's geological wonders include the fossils from the tropical forests of 300 million years ago many of which can be seen in museums in the area. http://www.beyond.fr/sites/mercantour.html http://www.beyond.fr/sites/verdon.html http://www.beyond.fr/sites/geoparchaute.html
Gorges du Verdon (around 1 ½ hours drive from St André) The gorgeous 25km of Gorges du Verdon, Europe's largest canyon, is one of the greatest tourist attractions in Provence . The villages of Castellane (at the eastern end) and Moustiers Ste-Marie (at the western end) are the main gateways into this fabulous canyon. This immense and magnificent canyon straddles the departments of Var and the Alpes de Haute Provence . Since 1997 the Parc Naturel Régional du Verdon has protected the deep gorges carved by the waters of the River Verdon. It's the high fluorine content of the water that gives it the magnificent green colour. The bottoms of the gorges can be visited on foot or by raft while motorists can enjoy the views from two cliff-sided roads which link Moustiers Ste-Marie and Castellane.
Gorges du Cian / Dalius (around 1 hours drive from St André) Just before Entrevaux, you can take a turning up to the spectacular Gorges du Cians and Gorges de Dalius, both of which are carved from burgundy coloured rock. The Gardienne des Gorges (a rock naturally shaped like a woman's head) guards the northern entrance to the Dalius gorges. Bungee jumping is possible here n the summer from an 80m high stone footbridge across the gorges.
Moustiers Ste-Marie (around 1 hours drive from St André) This beautiful village sits astride a rushing mountain stream that divides it into two halves with a narrow rocky canyon. The view of this mini-gorge, with small waterfalls down inside and medieval houses above, is beautiful. The village has numerous stone bridges and narrow medieval streets with shops selling it's local decorative Provencal pottery. The centre piece of the village is the 12th-century Notre-Dame church , beautifully restored in 1928. The "crown" of the village is a golden star suspended high across the valley by a 227m long forged-iron chain. The star hangs above the Notre-Dame de Beauvoir chapel, with the chain fastened into solid rock on each side of the gorge. The chain and star project was done as a promise by Sir Blacas, a knight who returned from a long captivity during the crusades.
Aix-en-Provence (around 2 hours drive from St André) Aix is surrounded by countryside full of authentic Provencal houses many exhibiting the unmistakable influence of Italian baroque and traditional French style gardens. The tree-covered cours Mirabeau is considered to be one of Europe 's most beautiful streets. The name Aix comes from the source discovered when the city was founded in 123b.c. by the Romans and was the capital of Provence in the 15 th century. Aix was the inspiration to many of the greatest writers and painters: Guigou, Stendhal, Mistral, Zola, and Cézanne, There is even a special Cezanne tour which one can follow through the streets of Aix stopping at points marked with a C. http://www.beyond.fr/villages/aix.html
LOCAL ATTRACTIONSLocal Markets St André - small local market every Wednesday and Saturday morning Digne-les-Bains and Castellane both have excellent markets every Saturday morning
St André Les Alpes Our local village is two minutes away by car or a pretty twenty minute walk along the Issole river into town from La Plaine. Situated right on the northern tip of Lac De Castillon and surrounded by mountains and ridges with fantastic walks the town is a typical Provencal village with all the general services and local shops you need. It is also one of the world's best flying sites with an excellent paragliding centre situated right on the edge of the lake.
The pretty town of Castellane is just a 20 minute drive away and is the starting point for expeditions into the Gorges du Verdon. http://www.castellane.org/index_gb.html It has an excellent market on a Saturday morning and it's town square is perfect for lunch and people-watching any day of the week. It also has an excellent tourism office and a fascinating fossil museum. Between St André and Castellane is the EDF (French electricity board) central hydroelectric plant and dam - free guided tours are available in July and August through the Castellane tourist office.
Mandarom monastery Overlooking the road from Castellane to St André, high up in the mountains is the walled city of Mandarom . Oversized statues glitter and sparkle in the sunshine and are worshipped by the Aumist cult (founded in 1969) http://www.aumisme.org/ There are guided tours of the park in English from 10am to noon and 3 to 5pm in summer and 3 to 4.30pm weekends only in winter.
Chemin de Fer Mountain Railway. The Digne-Nice mountain railway chugs from the sea to the mountains crossing five valleys en route with breathtaking views not seen from the road. The track was built between 1890 and 1911 and passes across 16 viaducts, 15 metal bridges and through 25 tunnels. One tunnel is 3.5km long and took 400 workers over two years to construct. In October passengers can enjoy part of the route on the Train des Pignes, as steam locomotive dating from 1909 which used to be fuelled by pine cones www.trainprovence.web . There are two towns en route, Entrevaux and Annot that are particularly worth a visit and you can catch the train down to one of these towns in the morning, have lunch and an explore then catch the train back in the afternoon. These towns can also be reached by car.
Entrevaux Entrevaux is a 45 minute drive or an hour's train ride from St André. This breathtaking hill-top village has been classified as one of the 1,000 most beautiful villages in France . It is a fabulous sight: a medieval village guarding a narrow pass, a draw-bridge entrance across the river, and a walled walkway which zig zags it's way up through fortified doorways to a 17th century citadel which magnificent views across the surrounding valleys.
Annot This village is famous for its Grés d'Annot) - sedimentary sandstone rock created around 60 million years ago when this area was under the sea. A haphazard arrangement of rock formations makes for excellent rock climbing and spectacular walks.
Peyresq The village of Peyresq was founded in the 13 th century by the count of Provence . Peyresq (or Peiresc which means "stony") owes its name to the limestone rock in the area. The village had become derelict by the beginning of the 1950's until a young architect and stone-mason restored the village over thirty years with the help of thousands of Belgian student-builders. Nowadays it plays host to students from the Université Libre de Bruxelles for seminars on subjects as varied as Linear Physics, Cosmology and Ecology. This village is worth visiting for the architecture as well as the incredible views on the drive there.
In the early 19th century Digne was a luncheon stop for Napoléon but today it's a popular tourist stop for French and foreign visitors. The town is named after it's thermal springs, visited by individuals seeking a water cure for rheumatism, respiratory ailments and other medical conditions. There is a large commercial centre for shopping alongside the fast-flowing Bléone river and with forested mountains all around. Digne has a unique geological position because of the transition between the Alps and the Provence plains and the area is protected by the Réserve Géologique des Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The area is also known for it's lavender production which is harvested in July and August and honoured in Digne with a five day Carnival (Corso de la Lavande) starting the first weekend in August.
Val d'Allos & Lac D'Allos Allos is a village with mountain charm offering skiing in the winter and alpine walking in the summer. Val d'Allos comprises of the village of Allos and tow 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 for the enjoyment of skiers.
Allos has within it's boundaries the largest natural high altitude lake (2,230m) in Europe . The walk up to the lake is spectacular and guided nature walks can be booked through the tourist office in Allos.
Colmars les Alpes Colmars is a pretty fortified village en route to Allos and ringed by ramparts and guarded by two forts. The village has pretty little square with fountains and beautiful old houses and is known as one of the 'villages of character' In August they hold medieval fayres here with people in full costumes and jousting on horseback.. |
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