There is a huge range of things to do around Les Basses Beaumettes and St Auban. We are 3km from the village of St Auban. There are several restaurants (although the selection is more limited in winter), the Tracastel serves excellent traditional local food and pizzas, the campsite has a cheaper menu with an excellent choice of pizzas, toasties etc, the restaurant at the trout ponds is a great place to sit and eat virtually on the water. The Brasserie Aux Amis is open all year round with food ranging from snacks to a full menu. See the Eating Out page.

The Gite Tonic is our local outdoor centre in St Auban which caters for most local sports including canyoning, horse riding, climbing, via ferratas, rafting, mountain biking, ski mountaineering, ice climbing and walks using racquettes (snow shoes). Please look at the individual activity pages on our website (see menu on the left) for details about each sport and area of interest. Provence beyond's website also gives a lot of information about local sports.

The village park is centred around four pretty lakes, two of which are trout ponds, and two of which are duck ponds. Click here to view the trout ponds website. You can either catch your own or have it caught for you. There is also a boules pitch and picnic tables.

There is a children's play area at the St Auban campsite where you can sit and enjoy a coffee whilst the kids burn off a bit of energy.  La Pinatelle is an excellent campsite, with pool, restaurant and mobile homes for hire, open from April to October. Please check the opening and closing dates with the owners.

The Clue de St Auban is a very impressive gorge with the Esteron River running through it which links St Auban to the towns and villages further north, it is made up of a series of waterfalls and pools. We are surrounded by clues and gorges - have a look at our gorges page, an excellent base for canyoning and rock climbing.

For more information about St Auban have a look at our community website or Provence Web's St Auban site.

There are lots of beautiful "perched" villages to visit nearby, have a look at our villages page. We are half an hour from Castellane which has lovely old back streets to wander around, cafes and bars to sit and watch the world go by in, gift shops to buy anything you want with an olive painted on it and a market day on Wednesdays and Saturdays which is well worth a visit. For more information have a look at the  Castellane Tourist Office website and the Castellane tourist office photo gallery. For information about market days in other local towns and villages have a look at our shopping page.

If you are looking for something a little different, why not include a night in a genuine Mongolian Yurt at Les Coulettes (Tel +33 (0)4 93 60 43 96) in the remote forests behind St Auban, whilst staying with us at Les Basses Beaumettes. There is a donkey sanctuary at Les Coulettes so you can spend a day or more walking in splendid countryside with donkeys of Provence. You can either go alone or hire a guide who can show you the way and explain more about the wildlife and vegetation you will see around you. There is one easy walk lasting up to 4 or 5 hours that can be done in one day and is ideal for children. You will be told all about the life and personality of your donkey before you set off - the donkeys can not be ridden all day but are there to keep you company and to help you to carry anything you may have bought with you. You can reserve an organic picnic before coming - 8€/adults / 6€/children under 10 years.

Arboretum du Sarroudier. The arboretum has recently opened near Les Sausses, in the grounds of a ruined farm, which was previously an abbey. In the spring of 2007 they also hope to create a medicinal garden and an aromatic garden. If you phone in advance you can have a guided tour and children can plant a tree with their name on it. Tel 06 65 25 89 99 or look at the contact details page on their website.

We are one and a quarter hours from Nice so a visit to the coast is always an option, for more information have a look at the Nice Tourist Office website. 

Carla King's article Wild Writing Women about Nice and her trips into our area are also interesting to read.

If you want to travel slightly further afield when you are here and have some seriously expensive retail opportunities why not have a day out at Monaco. The cactus garden overlooking Monaco is well worth a visit. For more information about Monaco have a look at Monaco Tourism.

This area really has something for everyone, even a religious theme park! Mandarom (which means sacred mountain), can only be described as unique, and includes a bit of everything from a religious point of view. It was founded in 1969, (the monks Star Trek style habits definitely pay homage to 60s fashions), after the founder Hamsah Manarah, ne Gilbert Bourdin, spent a winter in a cave in the Vaucluse, saw the light and decided to set up a temple to all religions united by Aumisme. He chose the hillside above the shores of Lac de Castillon. Some of the statues measure 22m high and represent the Mandarom communities unique interpretation of religion. The tallest statue used to be that of Monsieur Manarah (33m), however the gendarmes decided to send it heavenwards with 15 kilos of dynamite on the 6th of September 2001.

The Lonely Planet Guide book for the area is very good as is their website Lonely Planet Travel Deals.

Bonjour La France and Bugbog both give excellent holiday and travel information as does the Chambres d'Hotes site below.

Chambre D'Hotes et Gites en France

The selected sites page of the France Magazine website has some useful travel links and general information about all things French.

I've also come across the French Rose website which gives ideas of accommodation in an ancient bastide village in the Lot, personally guided walks and visits to historic sites in the surrounding area and studio rentals for artists.

If you're planning on staying in France for a little longer, and need a summer job, check out the SeasonWorkers.com website.