Vallouise - Haute Alpes

Located in the Southern French Alps, not many people have ever heard of it, yet it is the biggest National Park in France with peaks over 4000m. The best bit is the weather, we have over 300 days of sunshine a year, and that’s for real. We feel it is Provence in the Alps! Vallouise itself is a real working mountain village. It is not rich like the Northern Alps, but this just adds to its charm. Tourism is kept under control, and you still find you will not be understood unless you speak some French.

We have lived here for 5 years, and love every season. Long hot summers (but with nice cool evenings), fantastic colours in the autumn from the Meleze pines which are the only pine tree to drop their leaves and big snowy winters and springs filled with wild flowers. It really is like this!

During the winter, we have cross country skiing for our doorstep and an igloo in the garden most of the winter. (Puy Saint Vincent, our local ski resort, is just 10 minutes up the hill.)

Written by Jackie Gore - Owner of Property 96154 in Vallouise, France