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CHURCHES ON PERCHES - CASTELLANE
Notre Dame du Roc - Napoleon and the Verdon Gorges

Medieval monks made a religion of removing themselves from society, but in Southern France the friars of Our Lady of the Rock (Notre Dame du Roc) in Castellane, Haute-Provence decided the top of a 1,000 foot peak of igneous stone was the perfect spot for a chapel. Whether to be closer to God Glorious or for a better view of the French Alps is your guess. Actually the orginal village supporting the chapel was at the top of the mountain, but later came down to its current location, with a magnificent view of the church perched above. To reach it, is a good hike up along the old wall of the town. About an hour drive from Cannes and the Cote d'Azure, Castellane is on the Napoleonic Road (Route Napoléon), the path the exiled Bonaparte marched in two days to the Tulleries in Lyon to return himself to power from his retirement on the Island of Elba (see also A Saint, A Chanteuse, An Emperor). For the Emperor's fans there is a bust of Napoleon along the road at the spot where he stopped for lunch. But if you're on a road trip through Provence and don't feel like a spreading out a picnic worthy of a monument, Castellane is a perfectly quaint little French village with a wonderful outdoor café near the mouth of the Verdon Gorges, the French version of the Grand Canyon along with hiking, bicking, rock climbing and hang-gliding the Gorges near Castellane is a popular spot for river rafting. I prefer to put my boat in the water, but the French seem to insist on doing things their own way. The area is a very popular summer vacation spot for the French and offers some nite Gites for family stays. © Bargain Travel Europe

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