The best museums Alpes-De-Haute-Provence

Here is a fascinating visit! Alexandra David-Neel was the first European woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa in Tibet in 1924. Anarchist, feminist and journalist, born in Paris in 1868, she left her mark on the very masculine world of adventure and exploration. She settled in Digne in 1928 in her house Samten Dzong or "residence of reflection" where she wrote her works in her Tibetan room. A villa-museum is incredibly rich!

On the site of the former convent of Les Cordeliers, 3 areas with different services harmoniously coexist. Inside, a university training centre, the European University of Fragrances and Flavours, with restricted access. And the Artemisia Museum (named after a family of plants) which offers a dive into the secrets of medicinal and aromatic plants (agri-food and/or cosmetics) in Haute Provence (and particularly the Lure mountain, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its exceptional biodiversity.) through 7 interactive discovery areas. Various exciting workshops, for young and old, around the plants of the region are offered throughout the year (upon prior registration) and since 2018 a plants and well-being workshop in July and August. The Convent of the Cordeliers, itself the successor of one of the first Franciscan priories in Provence dating from the 13th century, was occupied until the end of the 18th century. Restored from 1963, the exterior of the convent can be visited free of charge all year round. To see the Cordeliers gate (14th century), the last vestige of the six gates that the fortified enclosure had.

This museum is part of the Musée de la Vallée network, which has a total of five establishments throughout the Ubaye valley, a very instructive network for those who want to know about life in the past in this valley.

In Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, come and discover the panorama of agricultural machines and tools collected in Ubaye. This museum exhibits the tools, gestures and work of Ubaye rural society, before it was invaded by mechanisation and the generalisation of trade. It also presents two specific activities in this territory: the work of hemp and wool at that time. It is dedicated to the blacksmith Albert Manuel, who provided it with models that are both beautiful and educational, teaching the traditional gestures of the valley: transporting wood, water mills... An old-fashioned kitchen has also been reconstructed, with a collection of old clothes and naturalized animals.

A very good point to note: this structure is sensitive to the reception of disabled people. Guided tours, small workshops, film screenings... help you discover the museum. Temporary exhibitions are also regularly held there.

Finally, we point out that during its opening period and only in high season, it houses a Tourist Information Point, which can be very practical on site, because otherwise the nearest Tourist Information Office is in Jausier. A double reason to visit this nice little museum!

In Haute-Provence, pigeon lofts are numerous and varied. The Bourrelles dovecote, which is particularly large, is a magnificent architectural testimony to a rural breeding activity that was once of prime economic importance. It is located in the magnificent olive-growing estate of Moulin Arrizi. Entirely restored by its owners, the association "Les Amis des Mées" has installed in the lower room a mini-ecomuseum of the pigeon houses of Haute-Provence. In the upper part, the pigeons continue to live and coo.

This original museum, housed in the chapel of the former 17th century Visitandine convent, traces the evolution of time measurement through the presentation of instruments, objects and documents that are often rare, sometimes unique. A Foucault pendulum and a reproduction of the Al Jazari clepsydra (a Persian hydraulic clock from the 12th century) are among its highlights. The Route du Temps, from Sisteron to Beynes (80 km) is the logical complement to discover the geological traces of the Earth's history.