Nestled between two limestone cliffs in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is one of the most beautiful villages in France. Perched at 631 metres altitude at the gateway to the Verdon Regional Natural Park, this village blends faience pottery craftsmanship, medieval heritage and spectacular nature. Just a few kilometres away lie the Gorges du Verdon and Lac de Sainte-Croix, making Moustiers an ideal base for exploring the Verdon.
The star of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is the village's most celebrated emblem. A golden star 1.2 metres wide hangs on a 227-metre chain stretched between two cliffs, 60 metres above the rooftops. According to legend, the knight Blacas hung it in the 13th century to give thanks for his release from Saracen captivity during the seventh crusade. Remade several times over the centuries, the star remains the powerful symbol of Moustiers and the first thing visitors look for on arrival.
Climbing the 262 steps carved into the cliff leads you to the Notre-Dame-de-Beauvoir chapel, a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. From this natural terrace halfway up the limestone wall, the panorama over Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the valley and the Valensole plateau is breathtaking. The chapel contains ex-votos offered by sailors rescued from storms, a moving testament to an age-old popular faith.
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is world-famous for its faience, an art of enamelled ceramics introduced in the 17th century by Florentine monk Antoine Clérissy. At its peak, the village had eighteen factories exporting across all of Europe. Today, around ten workshops carry on this exceptional craft in the village's cobbled lanes. The Moustiers faience museum, housed in a vaulted cellar in the heart of the village, traces this history through over 500 remarkable pieces.
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is the natural gateway to the Gorges du Verdon, Europe's grand canyon. A few kilometres from the village, the ridgeline road runs along vertiginous cliffs above the turquoise waters of the Verdon. Activities in the Gorges du Verdon include canoeing or kayaking between 300-metre walls, hiking the Martel trail (15 km), rock climbing on limestone faces, or simply taking in the views from the belvederes. The Verdon Regional Natural Park protects these landscapes of exceptional beauty.
4 kilometres from Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, Lac de Sainte-Croix spreads across 2,200 hectares of exceptionally clear turquoise water. This reservoir, created in 1974, is perfect for family swimming, pedalo rides, canoeing and windsurfing. From the beach at Sainte-Croix-de-Verdon, rowing boats and pedalos let you reach the entrance to the Gorges du Verdon where they meet the lake. Lac de Sainte-Croix is one of the most beautiful inland waters in France.
About 20 kilometres from Moustiers, the Valensole plateau offers one of Provence's most iconic sights: rows of lavender stretching as far as the eye can see. From mid-June to mid-July, the lavender fields turn a deep violet and fill the air with an intoxicating scent under the Haute-Provence sun. The Valensole plateau is also renowned for its lavender honey and almonds. An unmissable excursion from Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.
To make the most of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the Gorges du Verdon and Lac de Sainte-Croix, choose one of our campsites in the Verdon. The Le Saint Clair campsite near Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is ideally placed between the starred village and the lake. For a lakeside base, our Rives du Lac de Sainte-Croix campsite in Bauduen sits just 300 metres from the lake, with direct access to water activities and embarkation points for the gorges.