Top Ten France Off-the-Beaten-Path Adventures

Float boat: Raft the Ubaye (France Tourist Office)

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Do you dream of floating down clear, green waters against a Haute Provence backdrop of snow-covered Alpine peaks and historic towns? Here's the place for you: the Ubaye. Embark from Barcelonnette, a little town with a Mexican (!) flavor. Then meander down the river to the serene town of Thuiles, known for the St. Martin's church (built between the 14th and 16th centuries) and the pine forest of Gimette. The towns of Rioclar and Miolans-Revel follow, and the journey ends just short of the Serre Pongon Lake. Below that mark, and above Barcelonnette, both landscape and waters are strangely bluer and run wilder.