Villars-Colmars: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Villars-Colmars is a village in the mid-mountain region of the Haut-Verdon Valley, between Croix du Puy and Gardette. It lies on the right bank of the Verdon at the foot of Puy-Barre, which reaches almost 1,500 metres in altitude. Three groups of settlements climb the slope in tiers and shape the structure of the village. Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Villars-Colmars chooses the village as their holiday destination.

Culture and Village

The Église de la Transfiguration is an 18th-century building. Its elongated floor plan comprises two naves and a flat-ended choir facing west. In the heart of the village stands the Chapelle Saint-Blaise, which has been documented under this dedication since the 19th century. The Chapelle Saint-Pierre was built no later than the 18th century and contains an altarpiece from that period.

The freely accessible village tour also includes the sundial on Place Aco de Gravier, where it is classified as a cultural and historical point of interest. Every summer during the first half of August, Villars-Colmars also offers a guided village tour with Pierre Bonnet.

Knowledge and Trails

The themed oratory trail leads to 15 oratories and is considered accessible to everyone; the round trip takes one hour. The Amountagna educational trail starts in the village and provides information about pastoralism and transhumance in the Haut-Verdon Valley. Amountagna has 10 information panels covering topics such as the shepherd’s profession, sheep farming, the maintenance of alpine pastures, predation, forests, landscape interpretation and biodiversity.

Landscape and Hiking Routes

The Plateau des Chasts, Cabane Marie-Louise route is a 6-kilometre moderate round-trip hike that takes around 3 hours. It crosses the plateaus of Chasse and their alpine pastures; as a route shaped by pastoral activity, it is marked by the Sagnes and Marie-Louise huts. The Les Cabanes du Puy route passes by the Chapelle Saint-Pierre.

The route to the Cabane de Chabaud-Joyeux starts at a car park 300 metres before the hamlet of Chasse, next to an oratory. It leads through larch forest and reaches alpine meadows in the Ravin de Chabaud. The Panoramique de Chasse runs along the left bank of a fast-flowing mountain stream and offers views of the hamlet of Chasse and Villars-Colmars.

The path to the Cirque de Juan climbs through the forest over 200 metres of elevation and reaches a green valley basin in spring. The La Croix du Puy route starts at the Pénitents car park at an altitude of 1,280 metres, not far from the church.

Further destinations: Oppedette, Le Brusquet, Pra Loup, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, Montagnac-Montpezat, Beynes, Châteauneuf-Miravail, Entrevennes.

For the overarching travel overview: Alpes-De-Haute-Provence.