DIGNE-LES-BAINS is the chief town of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département, and lies in a superb position between the Durance valley and the start of the real mountains. Though a somewhat dispiriting place, it has particular attractions for geologists and admirers of Tibet. Covering over 150,000 hectares to the north and east of Dignes, the Réserve Naturelle Géologique de Haute Provence is the largest geological reserve in Europe, with fossils dating back 300 million years. Guided day-trips are organized by the Centre de Géologie (tel 04.92.36.70.70; April–Oct daily 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–7pm, closes Fri 4.30pm; Nov–March Mon–Fri only 9am–noon & 2–5.30pm; €4.60) during July and August (not every day, so phone first), just north of the city, down to the left after the bridge across the Bléone on the Barles road, with extremely good videos, workshops and exhibitions on the reserve. A couple of kilometres further along the Barles road you can see, on a bank to your left, a wall of ammonites.The town's connection with Tibet is through the explorer Alexandra David-Neel, who managed to spend two months in the forbidden city of Lhasa disguised as a beggar in 1924. She spent the last years of her long life in Digne, dying there at the age of 101, and her house, Samten Dzong, at 27 av du Maréchal-Juin, is now home to the Fondation Alexandra David-Neel (guided visits only; daily except Sat 10.30am, 2pm & 4pm; free), devoted to her memory. The Dalai Lama himself has visited the place twice. Also a cut above the normal is the town's recently renovated municipal museum at 64 bd Gassendi, with some great sixteenth- to nineteenth-century paintings and homages to local seventeenth-century mathematician and savant Pierre Gassendi. The tourist office is on the Rond-Point du 11-Novembre-1918 (Mon–Sat 8.45am–noon & 2–6pm, Sun 9am–noon; tel 04.92.36.62.62, www.ot-dignelesbains.fr), with the gare routière just to the north. The gare SNCF and the Chemins de Fer de la Provence are both to the west over the river on avenue Pierre-Sémard. A very cheap hotel option is the Origan, 6 rue Pied-de-Ville (tel 04.92.31.62.13, [email protected]; under €30), with an excellent restaurant which has menus starting at €19 (closed Mon & Sun). Le Grand Paris, 19 bd Thiers (tel 04.92.31.11.15, www.chateauxhotels.com/grandparis; €85–100 half-board; closed Dec–Feb), is considerably more luxurious and also has a good, though expensive, restaurant (closed Sun eve & Mon out of season; €23 lunchtime menu Mon–Sat, otherwise from around €30).
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