43.74° N · 6.36° E
A limestone canyon about 25 km long and up to 700 m deep carved by the River Verdon, which flows into the artificial Lac de Sainte-Croix.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
One-way walk · 16 km · 6–7 h · Demanding · Shuttle from La Palud April to November · No dogs
Scenic road · 22–24 km · 1 h 30 – 3 h · 14 viewpoints · Free · Closed from late November to late March
Boat and kayak hire · 1–2 h · From €10 an hour · March – November · Unguided · For families
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
May, June and September: warm enough for the lake without the oppressiveness of August and the Blanc-Martel trail shuttle already running. In July and August the Route des Crêtes and the lake fill up. From late November to late March the one-way stretch of the Route des Crêtes closes.
How you travel
The ways of travelling that suit Gorges du Verdon. We are writing a guide to each one: where to stay, how to get around and which services you will need.
By carBy campervanCampingOn footBy motorbikeBy bike
Where to stay
Why we like it: Four-star family hotel at 938 m in La Palud-sur-Verdon, with a heated pool, spa and restaurant, a few minutes from the Route des Crêtes.
Why we like it: Small nine-room hotel in a 19th-century bastide, ten minutes' walk from the centre of Moustiers, each room with its own terrace onto the garden. Dogs welcome.
Why we like it: Campsite beside a small 6-hectare lake, between Moustiers and Lake Sainte-Croix, with 80 m² pitches from €16 a night for two and mobile homes.
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the black olive and thyme tapenade or the paté de campagne to share, the dish from the blackboard and the lemon crème brûlée.
What to order: the €24 formula of the day; if it is on the menu, the local lamb in rosemary jus with gratin, and the fig crème brûlée.
What to order: the seasonal menu, which changes every week with what the garden gives; ask for a table on the terrace under the plane trees.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
Clockwise, from the Auberge des Crêtes, the one-way stretch links up without having to double back.
There is one departure in the morning. If you miss out on a place, there are taxis that do the transfer.
In July and August the Galetas boats are hired early and by mid-morning there is a queue at the bridge.
There are few services between the villages of the canyon. Moustiers and Castellane are the starting points.
Sleep two nights: one in Moustiers, for the lake and the village, and another in La Palud, to set off early on the Blanc-Martel or do the Route des Crêtes in the last light.
Cars parked on the verge, a queue for the boats and the mouth of the canyon full of pedalos. Go first thing or in September.
The Verdon has cut a canyon of about 25 km into the limestone of Haute-Provence, with walls up to 700 m, before emerging into the artificial Lac de Sainte-Croix. The water is turquoise green, and from above it looks like a ribbon at the bottom of the cleft.
It is visited in three ways, and it pays to combine them: from above, by car on the rim roads and their viewpoints; from within, on foot along the Blanc-Martel trail; and from the water, on Lac de Sainte-Croix, where the river leaves the canyon. Both banks can be circled in a day by car, with stops: the north goes through La Palud-sur-Verdon and the Route des Crêtes; the south, through the Corniche Sublime and the Artuby bridge.
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, at the western tip, is the prettiest base: a stone village wedged in a cleft of the mountain, between two crags joined by a chain from which hangs a golden star. Above, a stone stairway climbs to the chapel of Notre-Dame de Beauvoir. It is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France and is known for its pottery, the faïence, which has its own museum. It is a few minutes from Lac de Sainte-Croix.
La Palud-sur-Verdon, on the north bank, is in the middle of the canyon: it is the base if you are going to walk the Blanc-Martel, because the shuttle leaves from there. Castellane, to the east, is the water-sports village, at the foot of a rock with a chapel on top.
To sleep: in Moustiers, the Clos des Iris, nine rooms with a terrace onto the garden ten minutes' walk from the village, and the Domaine du Petit Lac campsite, between the village and the lake; in La Palud, the Hôtel & Spa des Gorges du Verdon, with a pool and spa.
It is the route along the bottom of the canyon, and it is demanding. It is 16 km one way, about 5 h 30 without stops and 6 to 7 h with them, with technical sections. It is recommended to do it from the Chalet de la Maline, 7 km south of La Palud, to the Point Sublime: that way you go downhill and arrive in time for the return shuttle. Halfway along is the Brèche Imbert, and at the end you cross the dark Trescaïre and Baou tunnels: bring a head torch.
The shuttle runs from late April to early November, on varying days depending on the season and every day in July and August. It leaves at 8:30 from La Palud for the Maline and returns from the Point Sublime at 16:00, with departures also at 17:00 and 18:00 in summer. Return, €8.50 adult and €5.50 under-12s; one way, €4.50. Book online: you can pay on board if there are places left. Dogs are not allowed either on the trail or on the shuttle, and it is not advised for under-8s and anyone prone to vertigo. Carry at least two litres of water per person. The river's flow varies and can cover stretches of the path: ask at the tourist offices in Castellane or La Palud before setting out.
It is the driving route of the viewpoints over the north bank: 24 km in a loop from La Palud, with about fifteen viewpoints, each with its own small car park. The tourist office recommends doing it clockwise, starting next to the Auberge des Crêtes and ending in La Palud. The central stretch is one-way, for bikes too: narrow, with slopes of up to 15% and a drop with hardly any parapet. It is open from late March to late November and vehicles longer than 12 m or taller than 3.6 m may not enter. Go at the end of the afternoon: with the low sun, the walls turn orange and it is easy to see vultures gliding at road level.
In Lac de Sainte-Croix, yes: it has pebble beaches and warm water in summer. At the Galetas bridge, where the river leaves the canyon, you can hire pedal boats, electric boats and kayaks to paddle into the mouth of the gorge. Inside the canyon, however, swimming is forbidden throughout the sector.
The essentials are the Blanc-Martel trail along the canyon floor and the Route des Crêtes for its viewpoints. To enter the gorge effortlessly, hire a boat or kayak at the Galetas bridge; for something livelier, rafting from Castellane. In Moustiers, climb the 262 steps to Notre-Dame de Beauvoir and visit the Faïence Museum.
For eating, Le Chardon-Marie, on the church square in Moustiers, at midday and without booking; the Auberge du Point Sublime, next to the viewpoint of the same name, at the end of the Blanc-Martel; and, for a special meal, La Bastide de Moustiers, Alain Ducasse's Michelin-starred house.
By car, on the AP-7 and the A9 to Nîmes, and from there via Arles and Aix-en-Provence. From Aix, the A51 towards Manosque and minor roads via Riez to Moustiers. From Barcelona it is about seven hours by car. The nearest airports are Marseille and Nice: from Marseille, Moustiers is less than two hours by the A51; from Nice, somewhat more. Without a car it is very difficult: buses are scarce and don't run along the rims of the canyon.
Questions
Two days: one for the Route des Crêtes and the south bank by car and another for the lake and Moustiers. With a third you do the Blanc-Martel trail.
Yes. It is 16 km with technical sections, 6 to 7 hours with stops, and it is not recommended for under-8s or anyone prone to vertigo. Bring a head torch for the tunnels.
At the viewpoints and the lake, yes. On the Blanc-Martel trail and its shuttle they are banned.
In Lac de Sainte-Croix, yes. Inside the canyon swimming is forbidden.
Only if it is under 12 m long and 3.6 m high. The central stretch is narrow and one-way: with a big vehicle, better to see the viewpoints at the ends.
From late March to late November. In winter the one-way stretch closes because of frost.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/france/provence-alpes-cote-dazur/verdon-gorge
