Gorges du Verdon

I love May in France. 3 public holidays altogether - 3 potential long weekends :-) So today was one of them. We got up very early, and decided on an impulse to go to the Gorges du Verdon (for that sort of day trip you need to set off pretty early...).

The 1st stop was Castellane, at the eastern end of what some call "the Grand Canyon" of France. It's a pretty Provencal village, overlooked by Chapelle-Notre-Dame-du-Roc, dramatically situated on a cliff about 180 meters above the town. We, as many pilgrims do every year, walked up to the chapel, and were greeted by some pretty magnificent views over the town and the Gorges...



We then carried on into the canyon, along some winding roads, to the Point Sublime, from where we were greeted by some yet more magnificent views over the canyon. From there we walked to the Belvedere de Rancoumas. Pretty hard going actually, since we had to walk all the way down to the bottom of the canyon, cross it over the 17th century pont de Tusset, and then walk up to the other rim. And yes, once there, we were once more greeted by some amazing views.



After this rather sporty activity, we drove through the Gorges to Lac de Ste. Croix, a very nice lake at the western end of the canyon. A really stunning sight, as we drove down from the rim towards crystal-clear lake...



And that was it - time to head back to Nice. But we'll come back for sure - maybe next time we'll do the legendary Sentier Martel (14 kilometres of tunnels, water, staircases and great views, apparently...).