Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VALLÉE DE LA DURANCE
The River Durance's wide floodplain (affluent of the Rhône) follows portions of Via
Domitia - the route from Italy that permitted the Romans to infiltrate all France. Now it's
the autoroute's path, fast connector between Alps and coast.
The Durance delimits the Pays de Forcalquier from the southern Alps' western edge.
This is a largely rural area of winding back roads and rolling hills.
Manosque
has two
lovely fountains and churches, but miles of traffic and suburban nothingness make visiting
a nuisance.
Sisteron
Sisteron's stunner is its
citadel
(€6; 9am-7pm Apr-Nov, shorter hours spring & au-
tumn)
, an imposing 3rd- to 16th-century fortress perched above a transverse valley. The
town is a principal travel axis, but it's dead at nighttime. The
tourist office
( 04 92 61 12
03; www. sisteron.fr; Hôtel de Ville; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm Sun Jul-Aug, 9am-
noon & 2-6pm Sep-Jun)
has details on open-air classical music concerts of
Festival des
Nuits de la Citadelle
, held in mid-July to mid-August.
Musée Terre et Temps
(Museum of Earth and Time; 04 92 61 61 30;
www.resgeol04.org
;
6 place Général de Gaulle; 9am-noon & 2-6pm Tue-Sat, closed
winter; )
, occupies a former 17th- century chapel in the town's centre and explores hu-
man and geological time. Displays include a Foucault's pendulum, sundials and a water
clock. From the museum, drivers can follow the rte du Temps (Time Rd; see also
Click
Roadhouse restaurant-hotel
La Magnanerie
( 04 92 62 60 11;
www.la-magnaner-
ie.net
; N85, Aubignosc; lunch menus €19, dinner menus €23-29, r €67-91; lunch Tue-
Sun, dinner Wed-Sat; )
, 10km south of Sisteron, is good for a white-tablecloth dinner
and an overnight on the road between Haute-Provence and points south. Refined cooking;
contemporary rooms. Reservations essential.
