Gorges du Verdon
France
A limestone canyon some twenty-five kilometres long and up to seven hundred metres deep, ending in a turquoise lake, with no town in it bigger than a village
Photo by Julien Chatelain on Unsplash
Photos by Bananna Wintour, Tamara Malaniy, Simon Spring and Théotim THORON on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
May to June, and September — high summer fills the lake and the roads, and the ridge road closes in winter
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 115mm in Oct
Where it is
43.78°N, 6.34°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Drive the Route des Crêtes clockwise from La Palud, as the one-way section requires, and stop at every balcony
- Hire a kayak at the Pont du Galetas when it opens, before the queue
- Walk the Blanc-Martel trail with an early start, a torch and the shuttle timetable; check the park’s site first, as a rockfall has diverted the last stretch to the Point Sublime
- Stay in Moustiers or La Palud rather than driving in for the day
- Swim in the Lac de Sainte-Croix, not in the river
Gorges du Verdon travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeCards in the villages and at most campsites, but carry some cash for the boat-hire kiosks, the smaller car parks and the summer hiking shuttle. There are few cash machines inside the park, and the ones there run dry in August.
ATMs & cards
Take out cash before you arrive — in Riez, Castellane or Moustiers. The village machines are few and empty by the August weekend.
Avoid these
- village machines in August, which run out of notes at the weekend
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- La Poste
- Banque Populaire
Take cash out in Riez, Castellane or Moustiers before heading for the rim or the lake.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeVery little crime; the risks are the landscape. The rim roads are narrow with low walls and sheer drops, and in summer they carry coaches and camper vans. The river below the dams rises fast when water is released for hydroelectric power, so wading or swimming in the gorge itself is a different thing from the lake. Trails need water, a hat and a torch for the tunnels, and summer wildfire rules can close the massifs on high-risk days.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (9 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the Route des Crêtes — narrow, with low walls over sheer drops; the central section is one-way and closes in winter
- the river below the dams — the water rises quickly when the dams release it, without much warning on the gorge floor
- the Pont du Galetas — boat hire and parking are full by mid-morning in July and August, and the lake road jams
- Trailheads and lay-bys, where hire cars are broken into; leave nothing in the car
- The massifs in high summer, which the prefectures close to walkers on high wildfire-risk days
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
DecentVillage food: lamb from the high pastures, Banon goat’s cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves, and the honey and lavender sold at every roadside stall. Moustiers has the best restaurants and the highest prices. Picnic food is the honest choice for a day on the rim or the water — buy it in Castellane, Riez or Moustiers in the morning, because there is very little in between.
Travel tipsGetting around
Car needed- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Gorges du Verdon
No Holistay rentals in Gorges du Verdon yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Gorges du Verdon on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Marseille Provence MRS
2hfrom the airport· 98 km as the crow flies
About 2h by road to Moustiers or La Palud.
Also worth pricing: Nice Côte d’Azur NCE — better for Castellane and the eastern end; about two hours over the hills by Grasse and the Route Napoléon.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
