Allos

Overview

A large mountain commune of the Haut Verdon, cradle of the source of the Verdon and of Lake Allos, the largest natural high-altitude body of water in Europe.

Where to stay in Allos

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Services & shops in Allos

EV charging — in the village: La Foux (3 points) · Parking de la poste (3 points) · Chemin de la patinoire (2 points) · Parking La Ville (2 points), network eborn. See the map of Verdon charging points →

Fuel: 1 petrol station in the commune. See live prices →

What to see, what to do

Lake Allos

Located at around 2,228 m in the heart of the Mercantour National Park, it covers some fifty hectares and reaches a depth of about 48 m, and is presented as the largest natural high-altitude lake in Europe. Of glacial origin, it is fed by snowmelt and springs; access is on foot from a high-altitude car park, within a strictly regulated area.

Church of Notre-Dame-de-Valvert

An Alpine Romanesque building dating back to the first half of the 13th century, with older parts, classified as a historic monument as early as 1846. It preserves old furnishings, including a wooden Christ and a painting attributed to the Vivarini school.

Mont Pelat

One of the highest peaks in the area, culminating at around 3,050 m to the east of the commune, on the edge of the Mercantour.

Col d'Allos

A mountain pass at 2,247 m between the Haut Verdon and the Ubaye valley; long the route of Allos's administrative attachment to Barcelonnette.

Val d'Allos – La Foux resort

A high-altitude ski area connected to that of Pra-Loup, the heart of the commune's winter activity.

Val d'Allos – Le Seignus resort

A village resort linked to the town of Allos, with a more family-oriented focus.

Chapels and sundials

The commune preserves an exceptional scattering of rural chapels and old sundials (several of them dated 1757), witnesses to the devotion and craftsmanship of the valley.

History of Allos

The name Allos appears in 1056 in the Latin form 'ad Alodes', referring to the alleux, the free lands of medieval Occitan. In November 1233, the Count of Provence Raymond Berengar V granted a consulate to the community, at the same time as to Colmars and Beauvezer. At the end of the 14th century, Allos passed into the sphere of the County of Savoy and remained so for more than three centuries, its administrative attachment running beyond the Col d'Allos, on the Barcelonnette side. The commune went through the ordeals of its era: occupations and recaptures during the Wars of Religion, the plague of 1630, then a series of devastating fires in the 18th century (1718, 1747, 1769). It became French again in 1713. Long rural and marked by the exodus of the 19th century, it reinvented itself from the 1930s-1970s with the rise of skiing, which today makes Val d'Allos one of the major tourist hubs of the Haut Verdon.

Getting to Allos

• Nearest train station: Gare de Thorame-Haute (train des Pignes, Chemins de fer de Provence), au sud de la vallée

Events & highlights

Val d'Allos winter season — December to April

Opening of the La Foux and Le Seignus ski areas.