Very few are the regions where you can spend the morning climbing up a glacier and relax on a beach by a lake in the afternoon! The Southern French Alps, thanks to its incredible variety of landscapes and great weather, offers it all. Besides its huge outdoors potential, this unique region also offers plenty of beautiful traditional markets, quality restaurants serving the tasty local specialties, very interesting museums and many other sightseeing opportunities.
Here are some of our favourite things to do and places to go to while you're holidaying in the Southern French Alps to make the most of your time here! This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we're continuously updating it with the feedback from our clients.
Markets have a century long tradition worldwide. They are particularly bustling and colourful in the Southern French Alps, where a happy crowd of welcoming locals and merry tourists meet every morning in a different village or city. Outside of the high season (mid-June to mid-September), the markets are quieter places where the locals come buy their bread, cheese, fruit and vegetable for the week. In the tourist season, the local traders are joined by a wide range of arts and crafts, clothing and souvenirs stands. Some villages even organise night markets which, thanks to the particular atmosphere of the evening, are even more special. A real must visit!
Gastronomy is one of the main reasons why France attracts millions of tourists every year, and each of its region offers delicious specialties. The Southern French Alps is no exception! Thanks to its history, climate and traditions, our region is home to many specialties, including the flavoured alpine lamb, the intriguing "donkey's ears" meal, the delicious goat cheese, the iconic "Tourton du Champsaur", and more.
Here is a list of our favourite restaurants in the city of Gap and its surrounding alpine villages that you'll discover when you join us for your holiday. All these places offer good and hearty mountain food for a decent price. In some of them, you'll even get a free apéritif if you show your Privilege Card, so make sure you keep it with you!
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With an official average of 300+ days of sunshine a year in the Southern French Alps, it's unlikely you'll even have to take a look at this section!
However, it's always good to have a plan B and to know what to do on a rainy day - or on any free day when you have no planned outdoor activities in the mountains!
There are cinemas in Orcières, Saint-Bonnet en Champsaur, Gap, Embrun and Veynes, as well as lots of interesting movies in the "cinéma itinérant" series of projections, which goes from village to village in the summer. Please note that only the LE CLUB/LE CENTRE cinema in Gap shows films in their original language. Most films in the other theatres will be dubbed in French (which can be great if you or your children are learning it!).
Gap has two theatres, the PASSERELLE and the QUATTRO, both showing a wide variety of shows, concerts and exhibitions all year long. Please let us know if you'd like to receive more info about the programmed events of these two places.
Gap is the major city in the Southern French Alps and it offers a lot to people hungry for culture all year long. But so do all the little villages scattered around the area! Each of them proudly maintains at least one small museum, or an old typical construction which people can visit to learn more about the history and the traditions of our alpine valleys. The places listed below are among our favourite places, as they all offer a lot for visitors of all ages.
Our Carte Privilège gets you a free entrance and/or a free goody in lots of these museums, so make sure you keep it with you at all time!
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The Southern French Alps is home to many lakes, including the largest dammed lake in Western Europe: the spectacular Serre-Ponçon lake. Dotted around the mountains are many smaller sized swimming lakes, both higher and lower altitude. Some of them are commercialised with supervised swimming areas and water sports, some (natural or artificial) also offer endless swimming and sunbathing opportunities, no matter what you're after: a wide range of water sports for the adrenaline junkies, and incomparable alpine landscapes for the romantic ones. And if you're rather into swimming-pools, we've got plenty of those too!
Here is a short list of our favourite lakes and outside pools (for the indoor pools, please read our "Activities to do on a rainy day" section).
The Serre-Ponçon lake is the largest dammed lake in Western Europe. The dam has been built in the 1960's for electricity purposes, but the lake which subsequently reshaped the whole Durance valley has quickly become one of the major tourist hubs in the Southern French Alps. Today, it is our favourite spot for all water activities, from windsurf to tubing to SUP, but it is also a stunningly picturesque place if you're just looking for a swim in beautiful turquoise waters, or for a wonderful alpine sunset.
On the northern side of the Hautes-Alpes département, another wonderful lake offers many opportunities for fun-packed water activities. The Lac du Sautet is smaller and less known than the Serre-Ponçon one, but its amazing colors and awe inspiring mountainous environment make it a top spot for visitors looking for a more preserved area. It is especially nice for lake kayaking, and the scenic roads that stretch around it make for an unforgettable bike tour.
This picturesque site is located downstream from the Serre-Ponçon dam in the Durance Valley. Though the Ecrins National Park is not too far away, the whole atmosphere is very different in this part of the Southern French Alps and you can feel the proximity of the beautiful Provence area: lower mountains, hotter temperatures, vineyards and orchards, etc. A very nice place to spend a few hours or a whole day, with many different water activities, a paintball area, a karting track, etc.
This lovely artificial swimming-lake built in the heart of the Champsaur Valley is one of our favourite lakes, as it offers everything one can expect from a lake in the mountains. Amazing views, a beautiful pine tree forest with bbq sets, a mini-golf and other games, an adventure park, a big slide, and of course many water activities such as lake kayak and SUP. Because it is strategically located in the middle of the Champsaur Valley, this is the place we chose for the highly popular barbecue which we organise every week in the summer with all the families that are holidaying with Undiscovered Mountains!
The largest swimming-pool in the area, the stade nautique de Gap offers both indoor (see "Activities to do on a rainy day") and outdoor pools. The outdoor facilities include an Olypic sized 50m pool, a big slide and 2 children's pools as well as mini-golf and trampolines. WEBSITE: Stade Nautique
Nested amidst a spectacular mountainous environment, the swimming-pool of Saint-Firmin en Valgaudemar offers 3 heated pools as well as courses for children and adults. It is only open in July and August. The perfect way to relax after a great walk in the valley nicknamed "The Little Himalayas"! WEBSITE: Piscine Saint-Firmin
A few minutes away from the famous Tallard Aérodrome, this small swimming pool (open only during the summer) is a nice place for a break. It includes a large pool and a children's one, as well as a solarium. Courses and lessons can be organised. WESBITE: Piscine Tallard
One of the greatest thermal spa&wellness centres in the region. Swimming pools, jacuzzi, spa and hammams as well as a wide range of massages, all of it in a beautiful and peaceful environment with some stunning views over the mountains of the Ecrins National Park. The drive from Gap takes a couple of hours, but you won't regret it! WEBSITE: Les Grands Bains
Hikes and walks are one of the greatest things to do when in the mountains. It is especially true in the Southern French Alps, where history and traditions (people used to live in remote villages scattered in the mountains and had no other means of transportation than their own feet!) mean that you'll find hundreds of safe and well marked paths throughout the area. The spectacular Ecrins National Park (the second largest in size in metropolitan France) boasts 750+ kilometres of paths, and you'll find about as many outside the park itself. We strongly recommend you go for a walk while holidaying with Undiscovered Mountains!
Here is a list of some of our favourite hikes and walks in and around the Champsaur and Valgaudemar Valleys, where Undiscovered Mountains was created 15 years ago. Some of them come with an added cherry on the caked: a beautiful high altitude lake at the end of the path! We classified them by duration so you know what to expect and how to organise your day. Click on the "READ MORE" button to find a more detailed description of each of these walks, a map of it, and what kind of sightseeing you can expect on the way.
We remind you that when going on a hike in the mountains, it is always better to leave as early as possible: you'll avoid the potential thunderstorms risks (they often happen in the afternoon or early evening on a hot summer day) as well as the heat, you'll see more animals and less tourists, and let's face it: there's nothing more amazing than reaching a summit or an altitude lake when nothing else is around but the mountains, the spectacular morning lights, and the silence!
You can also click on this link called Ecrins-Rando to discover many more walks and hikes with info in English (also downloadable as app on Android and iOS).
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A classic walk with panoramic views of the Gap, Champsaur and Dévoluy valleys without the need to do much climbing!
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A beautiful and gentle ridge walk suitable for the whole family with spectacular views over the Champsaur and Gap valleys.
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A reasonably challenging walk to a little known summit with magnificent views over the Champsaur valley.
A long but beautiful through walk taking in the wild and unspoilt Champoléon valley and the famous Refuge du Tourond.
