Photo : D.R.
Like a compromise between the Northern Alps and Provence in France, Saint-Jean-Montclar invites all lovers of pure air to enjoy its pleasures, in summer as in winter. Situated in the Alpes de Haute-Provence, midway between Gap and Bar-celonnette, this small town, home to 500, is one of those rare Alpine stations that has preserved a certain art of living in an exceptional natural setting. Well adapted to holidaying families, Saint-Jean-Montclar is a human-sized station nestled at the foot of the Dormillouse Mountains. In winter, snow sports lovers can enjoy the 50 km- long ski area stretching over the Ubaye and Blanche valleys, with a difference in altitude of 1,300 to 2,500 m, offering 360° views. The ski area includes 31 tracks, including 4 green ones, 13 blue, 10 red and 4 black, and is serviced by 11 ski lifts and 4 chair lifts. Aside from Alpine skiing, sports lovers can indulge in snowboarding, freeriding, tobogganing, and cross-country skiing, or use a half-pipe, a beginners’ slope, a snow park and a big air. For those who prefer to take their time, numerous other relaxation possibilities exist: snow shoe hiking, paragliding, a 600 m2 artificial skating rink and 4 spas.
Sporting the Famille Plus label, Saint-Jean-Montclar has developed numerous structures and activities for younger visitors: a crèche-babysitting centre open all year round (from 6 months to 6 years), a children’s club (from 6 to 12), as well as ski initiation lessons at the Club Piou-Piou for children upwards of 3 years.
But what makes this station especially attractive remains its well-preserved natural setting which, in 2003, earned it the Station Verte de Vacances label. Spring water from Montclar, retailed by Carrefour, is also reputed for its purity. Captured underground and filtered naturally, it comes from what is no doubt the highest source in France, or even Europe (1,650 m). On top of this, many activities are on offer during the winter season: a family festival with storytellers and clowns (December), an ice festival (ice sculptors and hockey) (January), a ski jumping (end of January), a water and mountain exhibition (March)…
To savour the tastes of the region, 14 restaurants including 3 high-altitude ones offer meals adapted to any budget. And as sleeping is a necessity, Saint-Jean-Montclar has a range of options with 4,500 tourist beds available in a wide range of accommodation formulas: bed and breakfasts, rental homes, vacation villages, holiday camps, 3-star camping grounds, four hotels. If we really have to make a choice, our preference goes to Domaine de l’Adoux, a charming 3-star chalet-hotel tucked away in a 6-hectare pine forest. Only ten minutes by car away from the beaches of the Lake Serre-Ponçon (Europe’s largest artificial lake) and 800 m away from ski slopes (free shuttle every 3 minutes), this establishment offers 3 accommodation formulas: a hotel formula (25 rooms), a chalet formula (house sleeping 16 to 20 with an open fireplace on the ground floor and a terrace or 2 apartments sleeping 6 to 10, each with 3 separate bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a living room and a dining room), as well as a rental formula 150 m from ski slopes and shops and 800 m from the Domaine de l’Adoux (seven 60 m2 self-catering cottages for 5 to 6 persons and four 40 m2 apartments for 4 to 5 persons).
The hotel is equipped with a covered heated pool, a solarium, a tennis court, a ping-pong room, pétanque facilities and all sorts of games for children who can attend 4 to 5 special entertainment evenings per week. The spa includes a fitness room and sauna; you can also book in for body and face treatments, essential oil treatments, back relaxation treatment, manicures, hair removal sessions…
Bedrooms come with TV and Internet, and the hotel provides guests with backpacks, water bottles, maps, hampers, individual driving circuits, a bicycle garage and private car parking. Finally, other activities are available nearby at preferential rates: guided hiking, gymnastics, handicraft workshops, guided tours, pétanque competitions, beauty workshops with an aesthetician, 3 golf courses (9 and 18 holes), boat rides on the Carline, paragliding, rafting, riverboarding, paintball, bikeboarding, mountain biking, a panoramic cable car (800 m)…
Email: info@montclar.com www.domainedeladoux.fr and www.montclar.com
How to get there?
By plane: Grenoble Airport 150 km away and Marseille-Provence International Airport 200 km away (shuttle connections to the ski station)
By train: Gap SNCF station (45 km), Aix-en-Provence TGV station (187 km), Marseille-Saint Charles TGV station (200 km)
By car: from the south, take the A51 via Aix-en-Provence, Sisteron, then the RN towards Barcelonnette; from the north, from Grenoble and Gap, take the D900B towards Barcelonnette. At Saint-Vincent-les-Forts, follow “Col Saint-Jean” for 4 km
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