The town of Gap sits on the crossroads of two valleys leading to its growth as an important market town in the Hautes Alpes. It is in the Provence region of south-east France.

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Gap sits on one of the roads linking Grenoble to the Mediterranean in the south and the road from Valence to Briançon in the East.

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This position let to prosperity in Gap but with this it became a target in various wars. The town was largely destroyed during the 'Wars of Religion' and again a century later.

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Nowadays Gap is a peaceful town full of restaurants and bars but without major sights to see. The Place Jean-Marcellin is an attractive square surrounded by buildings painted in pretty pastel colours. This is the place of the Saturday morning market though there are also markets on Tuesday and Wednesday in different squares.

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The Esplanade de la Paix is dominated by the large sculpture of three female figures created by Milthon.

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Also to see in Gap is the 19th century cathedral Notre-Dame et Saint-Arnoux, the town hall and the Musée Departmentale.

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The Domaine de Charance is just 4km from the centre of Gap and has an attractive garden which has been awarded the 'Jardin Remarquable' label. It is fairly modern in style and includes an alpine garden and a rose garden.

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Take a drive along the beautiful Valgaudemar valley at the end of which are a couple of hiking trails.

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The nearby Lake Serre-Poncon is one of the biggest in Europe and not only has some beautiful drives around its edges but you can come here to practise canoeing, water skiing, jet skiing and wind-surfing. There are also plenty of walks that you can do.

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You can find more local travel ideas in the Hautes-Alpes guide and the Provence guide.