The Citadelle de Sisteron is the town’s landmark and dominates the Durance Valley on the border between the Alps and Provence. A visit includes outdoor areas with views of the town, a museum, halls, a film, a chapel, a boutique and a rampart walk.
Anyone planning a stay in Sisteron will want to rent a holiday apartment there.
Culture
The Notre-Dame et Saint-Thyrse Cathedral in Sisteron was built from the 12th century onwards and has been classified as a monument historique since 1840. The Musée Édith-Robert – Musée Terre et Temps is located in the former chapel of the 17th-century Visitandine convent and displays, among other things, a Foucault pendulum, water clocks and sundials.
The Musée Gallo-Romain features a permanent exhibition on Gallo-Roman burial practices and funerary rites. It also contains an exceptional collection from the mausoleum of a wealthy Gallo-Roman family that lived in Sisteron during the Roman imperial period. The Écomusée du Pays sisteronais has a permanent collection of everyday objects, craft items, evidence of former occupations and agricultural tools documenting the local customs of the Pays sisteronais. The Écomusée du Pays sisteronais also presents a new temporary exhibition every year.
The Chapelle Saint-Domnin dates from the 12th century and is located on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
Landscape
The Clue de Sisteron is a narrow passage created by the Durance between the Rocher de la Baume and the Citadelle. The Rocher de la Baume in Sisteron is considered a geological and historical landmark and offers panoramic views as well as distinctive rock formations.
The Sentier botanique du Molard botanical trail has information panels that help visitors identify regional trees, shrubs and plants. The La Durance à vélo cycle route includes the accessible section from Sisteron to Château-Arnoux, which follows the course of the Durance as far as Volonne.
Activities
The Trou de l’Argent route passes at an altitude of 1,050 m through a cave equipped with cables and metal rungs and over exposed sections; it is reserved for experienced and well-equipped hikers. The Tour de Saint-Domnin follows a section of the GR trail connected to the Way of St. James and descends into the Jabron Valley. It begins and ends at the Chapelle Saint-Domnin on the Plateau du Thor; Sisteron is indicated as the municipality traversed.
Sisteron Aventures is an adventure park at the foot of the Citadelle in Sisteron town centre, with six courses at the main site and a separate “Extrême” course. The treasure hunt “Chasse au Trésor: La cité de la peur” is a self-guided puzzle game that leads visitors through Sisteron using clues and ends with a treasure.
The Plan d’eau des Marres also offers a fitness trail, an enclosed beach volleyball court, a fitness area and a city stadium. Canoe trips on the Durance are offered as far as Sisteron; between the Serre-Ponçon dam and Sisteron, the journey on the middle Durance is quieter. The tourist miniature train departs from the tourist office, travels through Sisteron and climbs up to the entrance of the Citadelle.
Local Traditions
The Provençal market in Sisteron offers local products and regional specialities on Wednesday and Saturday mornings in the Place de l’Horloge and Place Paul-Arène in the historic centre. Agneau de Sisteron is a Provençal culinary speciality prepared, among other ways, as a leg of lamb slow-cooked for seven hours, grilled lamb chops, roast saddle of lamb and Pieds et paquets.
At the Fête de l’agneau in Sisteron, the Label Rouge product Agneau de Sisteron, a flock of sheep being driven through the town, insights into sheep farming, a farmers’ and crafts market and a Provençal meal take centre stage.
Other places: Aubignosc, Montsalier, Beauvezer, Forcalquier, Pierrevert, Villeneuve, Saint-Martin-les-Eaux, Prads-Haute-Bléone.
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