Continuing east, the Ubaye looms. The landscape is definitely more mountainous. With Barcelonette as the heart of the region, it is a deeper area than the wide valley of the Durance. Wild, this corner of the department has many forts and peaks emblematic of the Alps. The Serre-Ponçon lake marks the border with the Hautes-Alpes department. The road then descends towards Manosque via Sisteron and the mountain of Lure, wild and hostile airs but offering a magnificent view of the reliefs of the Alpes de Haute-Provence.
Towns with a rich past
If the mountains and the valleys draw an enchanting setting, the department of the Alpes de Haute-Provence is also historically rich. Just look at the number of abbeys in the region: Notre-Dame-de-Lure above Manosque, Notre-Dame-de-Ganagobie in the village of the same name, the Saint-Jean convent -de-Martha near Barcelonnette… These buildings take place in postcard settings and are an opportunity for short hikes allowing you to fully enjoy the atmosphere of the Alpes de Haute-Provence.
With a population of approximately 7 inhabitants, Sisteron is also one of the most famous towns in the department. Its citadel has indeed made the city famous, but also the passage of Napoleon during his meteoric ascent towards Paris through the Alps after escaping from the island of Elba. The Château d'Oraison and the elegant 600th-century Notre-Dame-de-Provence chapel on the oppidum of Forcalquier represent so many points of historical interest and beautiful panoramas over the Durance valley. In the Saint-Jean chapel in Châteaux-Arnoux-Saint-Auban, you can admire the stained glass windows made by the world-famous artist Bernar Venet, born in this small town in the Alpes de Haute-Provence, while the castle now houses the town hall office today.
High place of geological tourism, Digne-les-Bains is also a town in which to relax. Baths in the heart of the mid-mountain welcome you for a day of relaxation. On leaving, the lavender museum offers many products from this local type of cultivation for sale. Don't forget to stop at Les Mées. This small town of less than 4 inhabitants conceals a unique geological curiosity: the penitents of Les Mées, and represents one of the towns with the richest olive-growing heritage in France. Leave with your olive oil products, on sale at the Moulin des Pénitents!
In Barcelonnette, whose name alone makes you dream on the map, the rich past of Ubaye manifests itself through the so-called Mexican houses. These opulent and atypical buildings in this mountainous area are the result of the great emigration of the inhabitants of the sector to Mexico between the beginning of the XNUMXth century and the middle of the XNUMXth century. Returning to France after having made their fortune, the population erected in Barcelonnette these buildings in a very opulent and unique style in the Alpes de Haute-Provence. They are now fully part of the local tourist attraction.
