Hautes-Alpes: what to see and do
43 sites listed in the département. The highest département in France by average altitude, the Hautes-Alpes offer exceptional high-mountain landscapes around the Écrins massif and the fortified town of Briançon, listed by UNESCO. Hiking, skiing and fresh air shape the identity of this Alpine area.
La cascade de Fontcouverte
On the edge of Savoie, the upper Névache valley, dotted with fish-filled mountain lakes (Lac Long, Lac Rond, Lac du Serpent, Lac Laramon) is the favourite ground of hikers and cross-country skiers.
Le Lac Vert (Lago Verde)
Nestled at 1,834 metres' altitude in the Vallée Étroite, Lac Vert (Lago Verde) owes its intense emerald colour to the algae covering its shallow bed, with no apparent inflow or outflow.
Les Gorges de la Méouge
A magic of water, sun and light, this torrent that comes down from the Drôme, where it rises, tumbles joyfully along the wild bed that nature has made for it.
Cascade de la Pisse
With a total height of 280 metres, the waterfall hardly freezes in winter because of its flow.
Col d'Izoard
Crossed at 2,362 metres between the Briançonnais and the Queyras, the Col d'Izoard is one of the legendary giants of the Tour de France, famous for its lunar setting of the Casse Déserte.
Col du Lautaret
At 2,057 metres, an Alpine crossroads between the Oisans and the Briançonnais, famous for its alpine botanical garden and its junction with the Galibier road.
La casse déserte
You can also follow the road that leads to the Col de l'Izoard and the lunar setting of the Casse Déserte, then to the wild defile of the Combe du Queyras.
La vallée de Freissinières
The Freissinières valley, 25 km from Briançon and 35 km from Italy, lies at the crossroads of an astonishing and varied region.
La vallée de la Clarée
The Clarée valley is a wild and authentic site very close to Italy in the Briançonnais.
Lac Sainte-Anne
The largest lake in the Queyras with 8.5 hectares, Lac Sainte-Anne peaks at 2,414 metres at the foot of the Pic Nord de la Font Sancte and shelters a seventeenth-century chapel.
Lac du Goléon
At 2,458 metres' altitude facing La Meije, Lac du Goléon is a glacial lake with turquoise water, reached by a sporty hike from Valfroide.
Les Demoiselles de Théus
Under the name of capped lady (demoiselle coiffée) or fairy chimney, strange-shaped reliefs lie hidden.
Les cascades de Valgaudemar
La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar is a mountaineering centre very well located at the foot of the Pic d'Olan. Upstream of La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar you can admire several waterfalls that leap from the slopes or escape from the ends of glacial tongues.
glacier de la Girose
La Grave (1,526 m) is a small resort village of about 460 inhabitants between Grenoble and Briançon at the foot of the Col du Lautaret.
les Gorges du Guil
From Savines take the direction of Embrun, then Guillestre; from there you sink into the Guil Gorges and discover the Queyras valley.
Briançon ville forte du dauphiné
Former capital of the Republic of the Escartons in the fourteenth century then a military town of the Alps, Briançon is on the Route des Grandes Alpes, between Grenoble and Turin.
Cascade de Saute Aure
Château de Lesdiguières
Château de Tallard
Cirque de Morgon
Devoluy
La Combe de Mai
La Fontaine pétrifiante de Réotier
La Grave
In the upper part of the village, narrow lanes are lined with sturdy stone houses.
Lac de Serre-Ponçon
Lac de Serre-Ponçon, with an area of 3,000 hectares, is the second largest artificial lake in Europe.
Le Pont d'Asfeld
Between Fort des Têtes and the upper town, boldly spanning, in a single arch, the Durance gorges over a sheer drop of 55 m, stands the elegant silhouette of the Pont d'Asfeld.
Les Orres
Les fortifications de Vauban
The old town fortified by Vauban, also called the "Cité Vauban" or "Gargouille", is a walking place prized by visitors.
Montgenèvre
Museoscope du lac
Orcières 1850
Parc Animalier de Serre-Ponçon
Parc National des Ecrins
Place forte de Mont-Dauphin
The stronghold of Mont-Dauphin, built by Vauban from 1693, is one of the 12 major Vauban sites inscribed in 2008 as UNESCO World Heritage.
Puy Saint-Vincent
Risoul
Saint-Véran
Reachable by road for barely more than a century, you enter the town made up of several quarters by the road below, and discover the oldest buildings, wooden chalets, fine galleries of hayloft barns, a well, a bread oven.
Serre Chevalier
Serre Chevalier Vallée is in the Hautes-Alpes département, in the PACA region.
Vars
In the heart of the Hautes-Alpes, between Ubaye, Queyras and Écrins, Vars La Forêt Blanche is bathed in sun thanks to a Mediterranean climate tempered by altitude that ensures very good snow cover.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame-du-Réal d'Embrun
Fort Queyras
Gap
Vallée du Queyras
Enclosed between high Alpine summits, the Queyras valley keeps a traditional mountain habitat and a regional nature park renowned for its preserved landscapes. Hiking in summer, Nordic skiing in winter, it appeals by its authenticity.