Saint Paul-sur-Ubaye

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Saint Paul-sur-Ubaye

Nearby:  | Barcelonnette 23 km | Embrun 75 km | Guillestre 27 km | Jausiers 14 km | Larche 23 km | Meyronnes 10 km |

Below: | Museum | Pont du Chatelet | History | Hiking | Lodging Hotels |

The old buildings are largely made of stone, and the houses have corrigated metal roofs and ancient wood-and-wrought-iron balconies. There's a stone fountain in the center engraved "1714" [photo-2]. Commerce in the village is brief but fairly complete, with post office, Mairie, alimentaion, Gites, bar-tabac (with post cards and souvenirs).

Massive stone walls surround the chuch perimeter, enclosing the cemetery. The church has a tall stone steeple, with eroded gargoyles at each corner and a unique small asymetrical clock on each side.

We also discovered two sundials (cadrans solaires) in the village: one very worn down, and this 19th-century one [photo-3]

Museum

There's a Museum of "outils et Traditions", open July-Aug, 15h-19h. We didn't want to wait around for the afternoon opening, so if you visit here, let us know what the museum is like.

Pont du Châtelet

This stone bridge was built in 1880, using a single arch to span the 100 meters across a gorge that's impressive because of its extreme depth. It is a very long drop from the bridge to the river below [photo-4][photo-5].

A pasture hilltop near the bridge is a great place for a picnic lunch, with a view of the gorge and bridge just above, and the hamlets of Seranne and Saint Paul in the lovely valley below [photo-6].

History

Gallo-Roman: There was a Roman presence in this Upper Ubaye valley, especially in the villages and hamlets of Saint Paul, Tournoux and Gleisolles.

Medieval: Saint Paul was urled by the Lords of Beaufort until the 13th c, and the Lords of Bérad until the 15th.

Hiking

Maps:

Didier Richard (1/50,000) #10 "Queyras Pays du Viso"; #1 (Alpes de Provence)

Hiking trails go through pretty much all of the mountains surrounding Saint Paul. The GR6 goes through the center of Saint Paul, running along the stone wall between the church and the neat gardens overlooking the river valley. To the south, the GR6 and GR56 trails follow above the Ubaye to Tournoux, then over the mountains to the southwest. To the northeast, the GR6 and GR56 continue up the valley before splitting off and continuing into the Queyras and the Italian Alpes.

Lodging - Hotels

We saw one hotel-restaurant in the village, the Auberge du Chamois.

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