Digne-les-Bains is a town of nineteen thousand people at the heart of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a place with an unusual mixture of attractions. It lies in a wide valley at the meeting of several rivers, surrounded by mountains, and its hot springs have drawn visitors since Roman times. The thermal baths are still open. The town is the capital of lavender country, and each August the Corso de la Lavande fills the streets with floats decorated with the flowers. The scent of lavender is everywhere in summer, from the fields that cover the plateaus around.
Digne's literary fame comes from Victor Hugo, who set the opening of Les Misérables here. The kindly bishop Myriel, who gives shelter and silver candlesticks to Jean Valjean, was modelled on a real bishop of Digne, and the town is proud of the association. The explorer and writer Alexandra David-Néel, the first European woman to reach Lhasa, spent her last decades here and died in 1969 at the age of one hundred, and her house is a museum of Tibetan art. The philosopher and astronomer Pierre Gassendi was born in a village nearby.
The geology is remarkable. The hills around Digne are full of fossils, and a slab of rock a few kilometres from town, covered with hundreds of giant ammonites, is one of the best sights of the region. The surrounding area, the Haute-Provence geological reserve, is one of the largest in Europe, and it has been recognised by UNESCO as a geopark. The Train des Pignes, the narrow-gauge railway to Nice, begins its journey here.
As the end of the Route Napoléon's ride, Digne is a good place to spend the night, with hotels, restaurants and shops in plenty, and all the fuel you might need. Napoleon stopped here on 4 March 1815, and the route continues north to Sisteron and Gap. The roads around the town are excellent for riding, with lovely scenery and little traffic outside the summer. Summer is hot and bright, and winter can bring snow to the heights. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.