Where the Vallée de la Blanche and the Ubaye meet

TOURIST INFORMATION

• Vallée de la Blanche Tourist Office : Tel. 04.92.35.11.00.
• See also : Saint-Jean / Montclar, Seyne-les-Alpes, Barcelonnette.

THE SECOND BIGGEST DAM IN EUROPE

VILLAGES AROUND

• La Bréole : village well-known for the Lesdiguières soldiers resistance to the troops of the Duke d’Epernon who laid siege to their castle in 1586. Nowadays, crafts (Maison des l’Artisanat ), sheep and cattle farming and  tourism. Worth a visit: Maison des Artisans, cheese cooperative fromagère. Tel. 04.92.85.52.61. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
• Saint-Vincent-les-Forts :  perched village overlooking the lake of Serre-Ponçon, Sanctus Vincentus was the stronghold for the Ubaye valley for centuries. The village also got its name from Fort Joubert, built by Vauban in 1696, the Chaudon ridout, the Châtelard and Dormillouse batteries. Its superb 800 ha larch forest, its hang-gliding and paragliding take-off area which hosted the World paragliding Championships is famous and its beaches welcome swimmers and yachtsmen. Worth seeing: the forts, the forest. Tel. 04.92.85.52.08. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
• Pontis : nestled at the foot of the Grand Morgon, above the lake, Pontis got its name from a bridge across the Durance, near Savines, which was destroyed several times by the waters. Worth a visit: Musée de l’Ecole, église Notre-Dame de la Coquille (1.556 m dedeicated to hikers), Demoiselles Coiffées (geological curiosity), Col de Pontis (superb panorama of the lake). 

NEARBY

• Maison des Énergies : to discover how the dam was built, the multiple uses of water, how power stations work, the role renewable energies play in the production of electricity, the group's action in the fields of environment and tourism… On the Serre-Ponçon dam, open every day from the beginning of July to the end of August (except 14th July and 15th August) from 9am to 12 and from 1pm to 5pm. Tel. 04.92.54.58.11.
• Muséoscope du Lac : high above the lake, with a panoramic room, multimedia room on the creation of the dam, the story of the old villages, the Durance and the Ubaye.
  
• Montagne aux Marmottes : In Le Sauze-du-Lac, 3ha animal park with birds of prey, marmots, badgers, deer, mountain sheep, foxes, botanical trail, museum of mountain wildlife, reconstruction of a prehistoric cave, village of Saturnin. Tel. 04.92.44.32.00.
  
• Demoiselles Coiffées : rock columns, a geological phenomenon formed on older moraines by limestone-loaded undergound water. In Le Sauze-du-Lac, Pontis, and in Théüs in their « ballroom ».
• Saint-Jean/Montclar : in the winter a ski resort, 1.350 to 2.500 m. 45 km and 31 runs of all levels on two slopes, 15 % of the area in artificial snow, 11 skilifts and 4 chairlifts, border-cross, natural pipe, big-air, skating rink, FIS homologated runs, shops, restaurants, ski school. In summer a leisure base, adventure park, paragliding schools. Tel. 04.92.30.92.01.
  
• White water sports : rafting, canoeing and kayaking, canyoning, white water swimming in the Ubaye valley 10km away.

MAIN EVENTS

• 14th July : fireworks on the lake at Saint-Vincent-les-Forts.
• Son et lumière on the Citadel : end of July in Saint-Vincent-les-Forts.
  
• Fête votive : end of July in Saint-Vincent-les-Forts.
  
• Fête votive : mid August in La Bréole.

OTHER INFORMATION

• To get here :
  
  • by road : A51 motorway La Saulce exit then D 900 through Tallard and Espinasses or A51 Les Mées exit then D900 via Digne-les-Bains.
    
  • by train : GAP SNCF station then shuttle by coach.