Beynes
Departement of the Alpes de Haute Provence - Pop.: 130 inh.
From Digne les Bains, take the RN85 and then the D907, after passing Mézel, take the C1 on 3km.
The road that leads to Beynes is a rather narrow, bumpy minor road so please drive carefully.
You are nevertheless on the "Time trail", and so don't forget to stop at the information panel : it will explain one of the geological curiosities - and there are many - of the Digne region.

After climbing a hill and crossing fields of lavender, Holm oaks and a fragrant maquis, you will finally reach Beynes, more a hamlet than a village and partly abandoned.
However, you will meet some dogs - a sign of life! - and, above all, you will marvel at the beauty of the stonework of the houses in Beynes.
This small, totally authentic village will delight lovers of harmony. Be sure to take the little street that slopes upwards.
It almost immediately becomes an overgrown track, and you will be surprised to discover a few marvellous houses restored in a professional manner, and a wash house, that has dried up, dating from 1871. There are also a few terraces with their Laurel trees, vines and lavender in flower, but especially, marvel of marvels, at the end of the weedy way, perched at the top of the village, and built into the rock, is the church, entirely in pink dressed stone, with a Roman tiled roof and its noble square bell tower housing 4 bells.
From this height, the site and the sight are equally heavenly.What wouldn't one give to live in the stonework house next to the church, that looks as if it was embedded in the pink rock, from where the view of the beautiful Provencal countryside must be as magical as it is breathtaking!

What to see:
Church.
The remains of several châteaux and two churches.
Geological curiosities.
Leisure activities:
Hikes in the hillsides.
Accommodation:
Bed and breakfast.
Campsite.