Gorges du Verdon

Gorges du Verdon, also known as "The Grand Canyon of France", is the perfect get away from the noisy and polluted cities. It is not nearly as big as the Grand Canyon of Arizona, but since when has beauty been measured by size? The turquoise waters of Verdon, the tranquility of the lake of Saint Croix, and the little villages that seem to be literally sculpted out of the rocky mountain sides: it all gives a strange impression of being in a French provincial jungle.

Quick Tips:

Canoeing, kayaking, hiking, picnicking -- all is there to provide rest for the stressed out body and soul. I strongly recommend going to the lake of Saint Croix and renting a canoe or a pedalo from one of many renting locations in order to venture as far as possible into the wild valley of Verdon. The place we went to gave us a choice between 1 and 2 hours, and even though 2 hours is more expensive (we paid €24 for a pedalo), don't be cheap: in 1 hour you won't see much and will always be checking the time.

Of course in the summer, especially during August, the river isn't as wild as one might like it to be. Don't be afraid to wake up a little earlier in the morning for that canoe trip, because in the afternoon the river resembles a watery Los Angeles highway with lots of traffic.

Other ways of enjoying "Le Grand Canyon" are: by hiking and by driving. There are many hiking trails in the region, so don't be shy to ask the local tourist office of the village of your choice.

If you have a car, you can also get dizzying views from driving along the "route nationale" D952. We did a 2 hour trip from Moustiers Ste Marie to Castellane, and I realized the full meaning of "dizzying views" during our trip. So if you are prone to car sickness I'd recommend sticking to hiking for the views, and not venturing too far by car. The route we took was narrow, curvy, with a rocky mountain wall on one side and a fall on the other. When you are driving, please take extra caution, for some places (in particular the tunnel near by Castellane) are so narrow it is impossible for two cars to pass at the same time and it is also impossible to see if another car is coming from behind the bend.

Best Way To Get Around:

Since we live in Marseille we went to Gorges du Verdon by car. It took us about 2 hours to get to the village of Moustiers Ste Marie. However, if a car is not an option, you could always look into tourist buses; I've noticed a lot of those on the roads and in the villages. Taxi services are also available in some villages like Moustiers Ste Marie, Riez, and Aiguines, and usually they are willing to take you from one village to another.

L'Escalo is a perfect place to leave your baggage as you venture to explore the Gorges du Verdon and the lake of Saint Croix. It is located right in the center of Moustiers Ste Marie, squeezed between two touristy stores, and offers comfortable, clean rooms along with tasty breakfast that consists of locally produced honey and jams on right-out-of-the-oven baguettes. The breakfast is served between 8:30 and 10am, though when my husband woke up on the last day at 10:30 the owners were nice enough to not only offer him breakfast but also invited him to eat it with them. You can either breakfast in the kitchen or in the lovely garden that overviews the lower valley (depending on the weather of course, in late August it was too cold in the mornings to eat in the garden).

The rooms are very neat, and I found that the owners have a very nice taste in interior design. We slept in the cheapest room of the house (€49) that was located right under the roof, next to the kitchen. The walls aren't very sound proof, but what can you expect from a house that is 4 centuries old? In the mornings we were woken up by people having breakfast in the kitchen, and they most likely heard us taking our showers. But at night, however, the silence of the Provence sounded like heaven to my ears too tired from the honking of Marseille.

If you are traveling by car, L'Escalo does not provide any parking places (naturally since it is located in the part of the town where cars are not allowed). There are several parking places around Moustiers, but since it is a well known tourist destination, expect to drive in circles for a little bit before you find one. The hotel, however, provides a map with some parking places in the area on their site http://lescalo.odepp.org/. Don't worry if you think you've driven too far, the village is so small, that wherever you park, you can easily find your way back to the center.

So overall I give L'Escalo 4 stars. Because (in my opinion) nothing can beat cleanliness, comfort, and genuinely warm welcoming, not even noise in the morning and lack of parking spots.

When I was planning our trip and researching the region of Gorges du Verdon online, I stumbled upon an interesting discovery "Musée de la préhistoire de gorges du Verdon". Or, in English, "The prehistoric museum of Verdon".
"Oh goody!" I thought to myself "While frolicking through the woods, we can also stop by and discover something new about human history! And look, it's the biggest prehistoric museum in France! How exciting!"

So on the first day, instead of checking into our hotel right away, we swerved into the direction of Quinson to check out this museum. The museum is located right in the center of Quinson, and it is pretty hard to miss since from the outside it looks like a prison, with huge concrete walls and no windows.

When we went in we were greeted by post-modern sculptures and a woman who took our money and gave us headphones. She told us that the headphones only worked when a certain sign appeared by the exhibits. Though to say the truth, there were not that many exhibits to see. Imagine yourself walking through a giant high school textbook about the prehistoric man, and well, you've imagined yourself walking through this museum. The exhibits consisted of wax statues, writing on the walls dryly describing the evolution of our ancestors, and old documentaries about the creation of the Alpes and the grand canyon of Verdon. There were several glass cases showing rocks and bones, some of them pretty interesting, but not nearly enough to call our experience great. Most of the skulls on the display were only replicas, which is understandable, but this fact added more sadness to the already melancholy place.
Apparently there was also a "Prehistoric Village" somewhere outside that consists of reconstructed houses from different periods, however, we didn't see any arrows pointing to it and were too bored to ask. Besides the last movie before the exit completely knocked out any tiny bit of curiosity that might have been left in us; the monotone woman's voice talking over a setting sun about protecting the environment gave me flashbacks of sleeping in middle school classes.
Basically, unless you're really interested in reading about our evolution by looking at the walls, or if you are an easily amused child, save those 7 euros for ice cream and coffee. The really interesting exhibits were few and scarce, despite this being "the biggest prehistoric museum of France".

Moustiers Ste Marie is known as one of the most beautiful villages of France, and it fully deserves that title. Located in the mountains it strikes with its beauty from the very first glance and forces right away involuntary "ooohs" and "aaahs" from the visitors. The houses that give an impression of being literally sculpted out of the rocky mountain side, the small pathways, and most of all the huge star hanging between two mountain peaks on a heavy chain -- it all carries with it a kind of Moustiers Sainte Marie magic.

There are several must see sights in the village that will captivate your imagination and take your breath away:

1. Notredame de Beauvoir chapel -- a chapel located at the very top of the village. Right above it hangs the famous star, which, the legend has it, was hung up as a thank you gift to the heavens by a knight who managed to escape from prison and return alive from the crusades. Today, however, the star no longer dates to the medieval ages, but to the 19th century when it was restored. The chapel itself dates back to the time of Charlemagne, and was built on the site of an even older church. Though, unfortunately, we couldn't enter the building when we went up there, we fully enjoyed the more than spectacular view from the top. One tip to remember, wear good hiking shoes! The road to and from the chapel is more than several centuries old, and most of it hasn't been restored in quite a while. High heels = broken legs and arms.

2. Notre-Dame church is located in the center of the village and dates back to the 12th century. It is topped by a gorgeous, ancient bell-tower, where many pigeons make their home. The inside of the church is dimly lit by candles and magnificent tinted windows depicting the crucifixion and the resurrection.

3. Hiking Trails. You can either check with the tourist office about the trails surrounding the village, or do like me and pay attention to the signs pointing into the direction of different paths. On the morning of the last day I went up the trail leading to the Cave of Magdalene and eventually to the Notre-Dame de Beauvoir. The path was really narrow, rocky, and steep, however, at 9 am I was the only person braving it. The Cave of Magdalene wasn't very exciting, but again, the views, the fresh morning air, the mysterious caverns in the mountains, the wild birds -- it's one memory that I will never forget!

In short Moustiers Sainte Marie is a village you should not miss when in the region. The only downside is the amount of tourists. In the afternoons the tiny roads are blocked with people gawking at faience pottery in the display windows. But, then again, you shouldn't expect to be the only person wanting to visit one of the most beautiful villages in France.