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Home > Discover the Alpes de Haute-Provence > Towns, small towns and typical villages > Sisteron

Sisteron

The Pearl of Haute Provence

TOURIST INFORMATION

Sisteron Tourist Office : 04.92.61.36.50. or 04.92.61.12.03.

See also : Val de Durance.

See the SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.

MORE ABOUT THIS TOWN DESIGNED BY VAUBAN

This town certainly has a proud bearing : whe you arrive in Sisteron, you are struck by the imposing size ! Dominated by its Citadel, that Vauban himself qualified as « the most beautiful in the Realm », Sisteron was one of the last towns in France to be surrounded by fortification towers.

On the Route Napoléon, the Domitian Way and the Routes de la Lavande, on the banks of the Durance, the birthplace of the poet Paul Arène marks the pasage from Provence to Dauphiné. Sisteron, a town which is out of the ordinary because of its beauty, its light, colour, by its history where happiness and misfortune, glory and poverty have alternated, and by its many rich, bizarre monuments is first and foremost a picturesque fortified town with an extremely attractive natural location on the edge of the clue de la Durance, a titanic Tertiary rock.

Sisteron is also famous for theq uality of its lamb which has just obtained the IGP label (Identification Géographique Protégée), its abattoir which is the leading municipal sheep abattoir in France, and its pieds et paquets which are an important part of Provencal gastronomic heritage...

HERITAGE

Citadel : XIIIth, XVIth and XIXth centuries. Marked visit with sound, museums, chapels, film « Citadelle navire des hommes », accessible by a little train from June to September. Open every day from end of March to mid-November.
Old town : a maze of coverts, small squares and andrônes (narrow alleyways), guided tour in July and August and out of season on reservation for groups. Tel. 04.92.61.12.03.
Cathedral of Notre-Dame des Pommiers : a jewel of Romanesque art, XIIth century.
Towers of the dormer ramparts : XIVth century.
Cloister of Saint-Dominique : XIIIth century.
Church of Saint-Marcel : XIIth century.
Bastidon de Paul Arène.

MUSEUMS

Musée Terre et Temps : part of the Geology Reserve in the former XVIIthe century restored Visitandine chapel. Rare and bizarre objects explain the mechnaism of time : a fabulous water-clock with automats, Foucault's pendulum, sun-dials... Open : July and August every day from 10am to 1pm and from 3 to 7pm except Wednesdays. April, May, June, September, October every day from 9.30am to 12.30 and from 2 to 6pm except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. All year round groups on reservation. Tel. 04.92.61.61.30.
Musée du Vieux Sisteron : devoted to the history of a town set up on a glacial bolt of the Durance valley, obligatory passage between the Alps and the Mediterranean. Open July and August. Tel. 04.92.61.00.37.
Ecomusée de la Ruralité : so that the rural heritage does not fall into oblivion, hundreds of objects of everyday life, crafts and traditional professions. Open from beginning of July to end of September, closed on Sunday and Monday. Out of season by appointment. Tel. 04.92.61.13.61.
Musée du Scoutisme (Scouting museum) : open in June, July and August on Tuesdays and Fridays from 2.30 to 5.30pm and all year round by appointment. Tel. 04.92.62.67.90.
Musée international Magie du Parfum (the Magic of Perfume) : open all year round every day from 10am to 7pm.

ACTIVITIES - FACILITIES

Plan d'eau des Marres (bathing lake) : supervized bathing in July and August, picnic and games area, entrance free.
Mountain-bike and cycle-touring circuits : topo-guides and rental. Tel. 04.92.61.44.03.
Climbing: natural equipped routes on the rocher de la Baume, climbing wall, topo-guide.
Skating rink : December and January.
Parc aventure : 4 trails open in summer. Tel. 06.18.89.83.10.
Paragliding : tandem flights. Tel. 06.70.59.37.63. Botanical trail du Molard (risk of being closed in summer).
River fishing : Durance, Buëch, Vançon, Sasse and Jabron.
Piscine découverte : open in summer.
Sports centre : gymnasium, rugby ground, football ground.
Quad-bikes : rental. Tel. 04.92.61.52.41.
Mini-golf.
Body-building.
Fitness trail.
Roller-blade park.
Tennis courts.
Riding centres.
Cinema.
Library.
Auditorium.
Salle des fêtes.

NEARBY

Via ferrata of Le Caire : 23 km away, the longest swinging bridge in Europe.
Gliding in Vaumeilh : 12 km away, maiden flights and courses. Tel. 04.92.62.17.45.

WALKS - HIKES

GR 6 : Alpes to Ocean trail
GR 946 : circuit of the Southern Pre-Alps - Hautes-Alpes and Drôme
GTPA : Grande Traversée des Préalpes from Serres to Entrevaux (160 km).
GR 953D : Road to Compostella.
PR : many. Topo-guide available from TO. Tel. 04.92. 04.92.61.36.50.

MAIN EVENTS

Provencal market : Wednesday and Saturday.
Monthly fair : 2nd Saturday in the month.
Fête de l'Agneau (Lamb Fair) : May.
Fête votive : Whitsun.
Festival des Nuits de la Citadelle : music, theatre, mid-July to mid-August.
Medieval Festival : even years, August.
Journées boulistes : beginning of September.
Fair-exhibition : crafts, trades and agricultural, beginning of October.

THE JABRON VALLEY

Located between the Durance and the Hautes Baronnies, facing the montagne de Lure, 35 kilometres long and 3 to 10km wide, the Jabron Valley is a privileged site where the traditional values of Haute-Provence are preserved, away from the big main roads.

Bevons, Valbelle, Noyers-sur-Jabron, Saint-Vincent-sur-Jabron, Curel and les Omergues offer a rich historical and religious heritage along with many leisure activities, hiking, riding and mountain-biking, paragliding, fishing, cycling… Tel. 04.92.62.81.05.

VILLAGES AROUND

Authon : little mountain village which has always been the last supply point for the shepherds taking their herds up to the alpine pastures. Worth a visit : forêt de Fontbelle, grotte de Saint-Vincent, alpages. List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
Entrepierres : from the latin « inter petras », a huge rocky bar litterally sawn in half by a little torrent which gives a majestic gorge linking the southern part to the upper part known as Mézien (from the provenc for middle) nestled at the foot of the cliffs. Worth a visit : Riou de Jabron, Bridge of la Reine Jeanne, crypt of Vilhosc. List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
Mison : two hamlets dominated by a feudal castle on an almost round rock table, steep on all sides, where the only access was by a subterranean staircase. Worth a visit : castle, chapel of Saint-Roch, fishing lake (rich ornithological site). List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.
Saint-Geniez : as the inscription on the Pierre Ecrite indicates Saint-Geniez dates back to Roamn times. The Vth century engraving, on the rock in honour of Dardanus who founded a town called Theopolis in 420 AD. Worth a visit : défilé de la Pierre Ecrite, Dromon chapel and crypt (VIIIth century), the church with its alabaster virgin (XIIth century). List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district.

OTHER INFORMATION

Altitude : 485 m.
Population : 8.000 inhabitants.
To get here :
- by raod : A51 motorway or RN 75 and 85. coach station Tel. 04.92.34.47.23.
- by train : SNCF station. Tel. 08.92.35.35.35

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