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Home > Discover the Alpes de Haute-Provence > Towns, small towns and typical villages > Seyne les Alpes
Seyne les Alpes
A little corner of Switzerland lost in Provence | TOURIST INFORMATION |
- Vallée de la Blanche Tourist Office. Tel. 04.92.35.11.00.
- See also : Saint-Jean/Montclar, Lac de Serre-Ponçon.
List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district. |
 MORE ABOUT THIS "VILLAGE DE CARACTERE"As you come over the col de Maure, the col Saint-Jean or the col du Fanget, you suddenly see the happy Blanche valley surrounded by the Aiguillette and Roche Close peaks which are not far from 2.800 m high.
Located between Digne, Gap and the lake of Serre-Ponçon, against the Robine hill and overlooked by its Vauban fort, Seyne-les-Alpes welcomes the visitor on a green backdrop of genuine landscapes which prompted a poet to nickname it « a little corner of Switzerland lost under the Provencal sun ».
Once a gallic oppidum, visited by the Sarracens, border town of the Counts of Provence and the Realm of France, Protestant fort, mule capital, Seyne still has many traces of a rich past which has listed it « Village et Cité de Caractère ». In a natural, unspoiled mountain scenery, with magnificent snowy landscapes in winter which turn russet and gold in the autumn, fill with flowers in spring and are green in summer, Seyne today has both an agricultural and touristic vocation with a very much alive breeding tradition and the labels « Station Verte de Vacances » and « Villages de Neige ».
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HERITAGE | Vists all year round with the association Fort et Patrimoine. Tel. 04.92.35.31.66.
- Vauban Citadel : XVIIth century.
- Grande Tour : XIIth century. Permanent Vauban exhibition.
- church of Notre-Dame de Nazareth : XIIth century, listed Historical Monument, an imposing monument in the shape of a Latin cross, Romanesque in style even though it has retained the ogive principle. Typical Alpine belfry.
- Chapelle des Dominicains : rebuilt in XVIIth century and recently restored, in baroque style, it houses interesting pictures such as the Procession des Pénitents Blancs, listed Historical Monument.
- Bastion des Pénitents : XVIIth century.
- Ramparts : Middle Ages and XVIIth century.
- Chapel of Bellevue : XIXth century.
- Old town : dated doors, houses with half-timbering, small square, wash-houses.
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WORTH A VISIT |
- Maison du Mulet (mules) : a live farm in a characterful restored where work in the fields is done with the animals throughout the year, the Miracle of the Mule exhibition. Tel. 04.92.35.00.42.
- Ecomuseums :
- Tailor : refitted workshop where you can see the hard-working life of a craftsman and the equipment of the time.
- School : rebuilt classroom in which you can sit on the benches, write with a quill and dream about childhood.
- Bugade (washing place) : place where the washing was done in the tub, and you can see old-fashioned linen.
- Forge : a blacksmith works iron in a fire, collection of horse-shoes and old tools.
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MAIN EVENTS |
- Provencal market : Tuesday and Friday morning.
- Veillées du Bastion : every 1st Friday of the month except August and September
- Ran’Dormillouse : heritage and hiking. A weekend around 14th July.
- Medieval Festival : beginning of August.
- Concours Mulassier(mule competition) : the last in France, 2nd Saturday in August.
- Fête votive : week-end of the Concours Mulassier.
- Festival de la Blanche et du Bès : music, theatre, circus, eco-event, beginning of September.
- Journées du Patrimoine : mid-September.
- Raid de la Blanche : French orienteering cup, end of September.
- Foire aux chevaux et aux bovins (Horse and cattle Fair) : 2nd Saturday in October.
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VALLEE DE LA BLANCHE: 4 WINTER SPORTS SITES |
- Chabanon / Selonnet : 1.600 to 2.050 m. 40 km and 29 runs for all levels, some lit for night skiing, 10 draglifts and 1 chairlift, 30 % of the area artificially snowed, snowshoe itineraries, shops, restaurants, sports shops, ski school. Tel. 04.92.32.48.59.
- Col du Fanget / Seyne : 1.459 to 1.850 m. Nordic site, 33 km of plotted and marked runs, in alternating and skating, 13 km of marked snowshoe itineraries, snackbar, equipment rental. Tel. 04.92.35.32.65.
- Grand-Puy / Seyne : 1.300 to 1.800 m. 22 km and 14 runs of all levels, 60 % of the area artificially snowed, 6 draglifts and 1 chairlift, snowshoe itineraries, restaurants, sports shops,ski school. Tel. 04.92.35.19.19.
- Saint-Jean/Montclar : 1.350 to 2.500 m. 45 km and 31 runs of all levels on two slopes, 15 % of area artificially snowed, 11 draglifts and 4 chairlifts, boarder-cross, natural pipe, big-air, FIS slopes, skating rink, shops, restaurants, ski school. Tel. 04.92.30.92.01.
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ACTIVITIES - FACILITIES |
- Gliding : les Auches platform, initiation flights, maiden flights, discovery courses, piloting school, mountain flying, winching only. Tel. 04.92.35.25.13.
- Covered swimming pool : open from beginning of May to mid-august. Tel. 04.92.35.00.87.
- Leisure activity area : football gounds and basketball courts, climbing wall, children's games, mini golf. Tel. 06.26.98.57.68.
- Tennis. Tel. 06.26.98.57.68.
- Riding centre : les Colombets. Tel. 04.92.35.14.32.
- Fishing: la Blanche and Bès rivers, lake of Serre-Ponçon, mountain lakes. Cards in the Café des Alpes and the bazar le Chamois, Grand Rue.
- Library.
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FOR THE FAMILY |
- Day care centre La Ruche : from 3 months to 6 years old, open all year round from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm. Tel. 04.92.35.19.96.
- Day camp : from 6 to 12. Wednesdays and holidays. Tel. 04.92.35.19.96.
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HIKING | IGN n° 3439 and3440 east maps.
- GR6, Road to Saint-Jacques de Compostelle (Cuneo-Sisteron itinerary), and family trails. Maps and topo-guides for sale in shops.
- Labeled mountain-bike base: 275 km of marked trails, 15 itineraries. Topo-guide for sale in shops.
- Pack-donkey rental : An’Alpage in Grand-Puy. Tel. 04.92.35.04.08.
- Non-guarded hut : Cabane des Mulets. Tel. 04.92.35.00.42.
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VILLAGES AROUND |
- Auzet : away from the beaten track, in the vallée de la Grave, this little mountain village has made the most of its rich natural heritage and protects its local wildlife. Worth a visit : old houses the Cubertin arboretum, Saut de la Pie waterfall, L'Infernet farm (reindeer and bison farm). List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
- Barles : its geology is famous all over the world, and the village is nestled in the vallée du Bès with its well-differentiated layers which make it possible to read 300 million years of Earth's history. Worth a visit : many fossile-bearing sites, Clues de Barles, Maison de la Géologie. List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
- Le Vernet : between Blanche and Bès, this little mountain village is an important place for pastoralism where hundreds of animals pass on their way to the peaks. Worth a visit : Demontzey park, Haut-Vernet bread oven, chapel of Saint-Pancrace. List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
- Montclar : its ski resort Saint-Jean/Montclar, the biggest in the valley, overlooking the lake of Serre-Ponçon, has the labels « Village de Montagne » and « Station Verte de Vacances ». Worth a visit : chapel and lake of Saint-Léger, chapel of la Salette, Dormillouse battery. List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
- Saint-Martin-les-Seyne : made up of three hamlets, none of which are called Saint-Martin, one of its curiosities is its church which was built on the side of the mountain in 1867 at the same distance from each of the hamlets. Worth a visit : church, Gorges de la Blanche. List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
- Selonnet : at the foot of one of the most beautiful forests of conifers in the Southern Alps and overlooked by the ski resort of Chabanon, the village of Selonnet stretches along the banks of the Blanche. Worth a visit : Tour Lesdiguières, church of Saint-Antoine, chapel of Notre-Dame des Champs, Grosse Pierre (erratic 500 tonne block). List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
- Verdaches : at the foot of Mont Blayeul, where the Bès and the Mardaric meet, Verdaches has stayed authentic with a gentle life and an intact heritage. Worth a visit : Clues de Mardaric and Verdaches, fossile-bearing sites, medieval necropolis and chapel of Saint-Domnin. List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
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OTHER INFORMATION |
- Altitude : 1.260 m.
- Population : 1.460 inhabitants.
- To get here :
- by road : A51 motorway La Saulce exit then D 900 via Tallard and Espinasses or A51 Les Mées exit then D900 via Digne-les-Bains.
- by train : Gap SNCF station and coach shuttle.
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