Plan your visit
Lac de Sainte-Croix is one of France’s great natural sites — bring good shoes and a camera. Locate it on the map, book a room nearby in a click, or add it to your travel list to build your itinerary.
About Lac de Sainte-Croix
Spread across the border of the Var and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Lac de Sainte-Croix is a vast turquoise reservoir created in the 1970s — and the celebrated gateway to the Gorges du Verdon. At the Galetas bridge, where the emerald river spills out of the canyon, visitors rent pedal boats, kayaks and electric craft to paddle up into the towering limestone walls. Elsewhere, the shoreline offers sandy beaches, warm swimming and windsurfing on one of France's largest lakes. The half-drowned village of Salles-sur-Verdon was rebuilt above the water when the valley was flooded. Between Provençal light, lavender-scented hills and the drama of the neighbouring canyon, Sainte-Croix is one of the most photogenic stretches of water in the south of France.