Alpes-Mercantour

In the north of the department, this area includes the valleys of the Ubaye, la Blanche and the Val d’Allos. It’s the true Alp, with its high mountains, more than 3000m-high, its forests and streams; a silent land where shepherds watch over their herds in vast pastures. In the spring, you’ll find a multicoloured flora with Alpine Columbines and Lady’s Slipper, and enjoy the larches forests in the fall. On the rocky sides of the mountains, thechamois runs and jumps while thehare stands in the snow fields. A bit downwards, often very close to humans, the marmot whistles to warn its congeners of your arrival.                                                                             In this extraordinary setting, generations of mountaineers created and original heritage : villages withhouses covered in lauze and wooden balconies, sundials, crosses with the instruments of the Passion… In Barcelonnette, vast parks surround the charming antiquated Mexican villas. In Jausiers, the Church seems to be Italian. In Allos, Our-Lady de Valvert is at the entrance of the village, as elegant as it was in the 13^th century. In Seyne-les-Alpes, the old tower still watches over the city. Strewn with forts and battlements built by Vauban or Maginot, the upper country still seems to watch an invisible frontier. Ski Paradise in the winter with its 3 International ski resorts: Pra-Loup, Le Sauze/Super Sauze, and the Foux d’Allos, linked to Pra-Loup since 1977, the alpine valleys become a fantastic place for alpinism in the summer, especially the Massif of the Chambeyron. But nice family ski resorts are found like Saint-Jean/Montclar, Chabanon or Sainte-Anne and many cross-country ski sites like Colmars-Ratery, Larche and Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye. Summer is also the perfect time to practice water-sports : sailing on the Lake of Serre-Ponçon, or white water sports (rafting, kayak) on the Ubaye. Spring and fall are perfect forhikes and mountain-biking.