As a disclaimer, I’ll say that I haven’t been to all of Europe’s gorges. I’m certain that there are some really good ones out there. Nonetheless, the Gorges of Verdon still ranks pretty highly in my opinion. It could easily be Europe’s most beautiful gorge. It’s the kind of place that’s easy to imagine going back to explore more.
What makes this gorge so spectacular isn’t just the beautiful, turquoise water. It’s also the fact that the Verdon Gorge very narrow and sometimes very deep. At some points it can be 700m deep, and at other places, just 200m wide. The best way to see it all in a day, is to drive around it.
Driving the Gorge
The gorge is about twenty-five kilometres long. As you’ll have to drive slowly, this can take all day. The road is really twisted in parts, and there is always the possibility of plummeting to one’s imminent death if you don’t drive carefully. Stopping at popular look-out spots should be planned out in advance, because there’s often not a chance to turn your car around (the roads are too narrow and the Route des Crêtes is a one-way).
We left our pleasant campsite, Camping Saint Clair near Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and headed towards that town to join the D952. Next was the D955, D90 towards Trigance and then D71 and D19 back to the camp site over Lac de Sainte-Croix.
I recommend packing picnic food with you as you might not encounter many shops. Also, plan your trip to be a little off-season as apparently these roads can get quite busy in summer. We were here in early June and there were only a few cars on the road.
