Digne-les-Bains

Digne-les-Bains, the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, is a thermal spa city of considerable size and cultural ambition set where the Pre-Alpine valleys open onto the Durance plain, known for its oligomineral springs within a long thermal tradition, its UNESCO-recognised Géoparc de Haute-Provence protecting some of the richest Jurassic fossil deposits in Europe, and its remarkable association with the explorer and mystic Alexandra David-Néel, who chose Digne as her home after spending fourteen years travelling Tibet and became the first Western woman to enter Lhasa in 1924. The thermal waters of Digne, rising from the limestone and gypsum formations of the Digne thrust sheet in one of the most geologically complex areas of the French Alps, are associated with relaxation and well-being within a departmental capital whose lavender culture, medieval old town, and proximity to the dramatic landscapes of the Verdon Gorges create a rich regional tourism context for the thermal stay. The annual Corso de la Lavande festival and the extraordinary Musée Alexandra David-Néel give Digne a cultural personality significantly more distinctive than most French departmental capitals.