Saint-Véran
Member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
At 2,042 metres by its church, Saint-Véran in the Queyras is called the highest commune in Europe, and a sundial on the church wall names it the highest place where people eat bread from their own grain. Its five quarters each have an old fountain, and Bronze Age miners dug copper on the mountain above. Biblical verses over some doors recall the village's Protestant families.
Highlights
- Musée Le Soum, a house from 1641 showing village life
- Saint-Véran Observatory at about 2,930 metres, open to amateur astronomers (FR)
- The parish church porch, with stone lions, one cradling a baby
- Sundials, including Zarbula's 1840 dial on the Maison aux Forannes
- Bronze Age copper mine, with the Tranchée des Anciens still visible
Text adapted from Wikipedia (Saint-Véran (FR), Saint-Véran (EN), Saint-Véran (IT)), Wikivoyage (Saint-Véran). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Population: 160
Things to see
Events through the year
- Festival of traditionsSheep flock through the village, bread from the communal oven, lacemaking
Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.
Adapted from Wikipedia (Saint-Véran). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Specialities of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Typical of the region rather than of this village.
- Caviar d'ArlesLocal produce
- Truffle of VaucluseLocal produce
- Snails with aïoliDishSnails fasted then simmered with fennel and wild mint, eaten with aïoli
Adapted from Wikipedia (Cuisine provençale). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to sleep
8 places to stay within 3 km
- Hotels 4
- B&Bs and guest houses 2
- Campsites 2
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Thermal baths nearby
- Thermal spa: Plan de Phazy (FR) · ~41 min by car
- Hot spring: Source de la Rotonde (FR) · ~41 min by car
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Nearby member villages
- Chianale · 12 km
- Mont-Dauphin · 20 km
- Ostana · 25 km
- Usseaux · 41 km
- Colmars · 61 km