Eastern Provence
France > Provence > Eastern
In eastern Provence, it's the landscapes not the towns that dominate. The gentle hills and villages of the Haut-Var, the northern half of the Var département, make for happy exploration by car or bike, before the foothills of the Alps gradually close in, eventually reaching heights of over 3000m in the far northeastern corner, around Barcelonnette. Winter visitors are almost exclusively skiers, while the summer brings a variety of dedicated hikers, bird-watchers, botanists and climbers. The Parc National du Mercantour is a conservation area in this mountainous terrain, but the most exceptional geographical feature is the Gorges du Verdon – Europe's answer to the Grand Canyon – in the heart of Provence.Between Valence and Montélimar, the River Drôme joins the Rhône at Livron-sur-Drôme. Following the Drôme upstream by train towards Sisteron, or by road towards Sisteron or Barcelonnette, is one of the most dramatic ways of entering eastern Provence.
Pages in section ‘Eastern’: Haut-Var villages, Aups, Gorges du Verdon, Route Napoléon to Sisteron.
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