La Bastide

Overview

commune

Landscape and nature

A heavily wooded territory (about 65% forest), together with heathland, meadows and a little arable land. A mountain climate with a Mediterranean tinge, and high annual rainfall (of the order of 1,130 mm). The commune is classified in a zone of medium seismic activity (zone 4).

Where to stay in La Bastide

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Services & shops in La Bastide

EV charging — in the village: Rue Des Bailes (2 points), network eborn. See the map of Verdon charging points →

What to see, what to do

Church of Sainte-Madeleine

A 17th-century parish church with a bell of 1760. It houses, above the high altar, a gilded wooden altarpiece classified as a historic object.

Castle (town hall)

A former seigneurial castle that became the village town hall; ruins of the older feudal castle also survive, evidence of the medieval castrum.

Montagne de Lachens

The highest point in the Var département (1,714 m), the Montagne de Lachens dominates the commune; the summit itself stands in the neighbouring commune of Mons, on the borders of La Bastide, La Roque-Esclapon and Séranon. Accessible from the Haut-Village, the mountain is a panoramic belvedere over the Prealps and the Verdon, and a renowned free-flight site (paragliding, hang-gliding).

GR 49

The GR 49 long-distance path, linking Saint-Raphaël to Rougon (gateway to the Verdon Gorges), crosses the commune. A network of waymarked trails leads towards Lachens from the Haut-Village.

Valley of the Artuby

The commune is crossed by the Artuby, the main tributary of the Verdon, as well as by the Bruyère and Rieu Tort streams; the landscape is predominantly forested (close to two thirds of the territory).

History of La Bastide

The site corresponds to a former feudal castrum. In 1342 the Count of Provence attached the community to the viguerie of Castellane. In the middle of the 17th century François de Pontevès is described as lord of Castellar and of La Bastide d'Esclapon. The commune long bore the name La Bastide-d'Esclapon (recorded in 1801), in connection with the neighbouring lordship of La Roque-Esclapon, before settling on the name La Bastide. A high-altitude village whose economy was long agro-pastoral, it has seen a slight recovery in population since the 2010s.