Deep in the wild reaches of Haute Provence in southern France stand three jewels within only a few miles of one another—Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the Gorges du Verdon, and the Bastide de Moustiers.
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
The 1,500-year-old village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, officially designated as one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France, is poised at the entrance of the deepest canyon in Europe, the stunning Gorges du Verdon. On the slopes between the village and the river, tucked back along a small country road, a grand 17th-century building houses the Bastide de Moustiers, the auberge and restaurant created by one of France’s most famous chefs, Alain Ducasse.The flower-bedecked village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, founded in the fifth century by monks, is a cobblestoned collection of narrow winding streets, houses, small shops, and restaurants separated by the chasm of the Adour River and its cascading waters. Arched stone bridges link the two sides of the village, which is further distinguished by a gold star hung upon a chain suspended between the village cliffs. The star is said to have been put there by a knight to show his thanks for his safe return from the Crusades.
