* France - Provence : Lakes and Mountains

Check-in of the group to our club hotel in Pra Loup and settle in. Welcome drink. Dinner of the group and overnight.

We visit Barcelonnette, famous for its sumptuous Mexican style villas, stopping to taste some of the region's specialities at the Centre for local products. A traditional lunch follows at the hotel. We head for the "Demoiselles Coiffees", a curiosity of strange stone columns with a large rock on top, and stop at the nearby viewpoint offering a superb panorama of the lake and dam at Serre-Poncon. A boat trip on the lake is an optional extra. Dinner of the group, followed by evening entertainment, and overnight.

We visit the village of St Paul sur Ubaye and its church dating back to the Early Middle Ages. We make a halt at Chatelet, perched high above the gorge between two sheer rock faces. Lunch is at the hotel. On to the old town of Briancon, encircled with fortifications. We take the road via the Izoard pass and its fantastic lunar landscape. Arrive of the group at St Veran, Europe's highest township where all the buildings are made of wood, and a visit the toy factory. Our return journey takes us through the wild Guil gorges. Dinner of the group followed by evening entertainment, and overnight.

We tour Sisteron old town, « the gate to Provence ». An optional extra is the tourist train ride up to the citadel. Lunch then on to Gap where we visit the Charance estate and its most unusual English gardens at over 1000 metres above sea level. A slide show on the Ecrins National Park tells us about its natural flora. Dinner of the group, followed by evening entertainment, and overnight.

Breakfast.