Lac De Sainte Croix

The Lac De Sainte Croix is the third largest lake in France and stretches over a surface of 2200 hectares. It is 10km long and 2km wide. The dam, built at the entrance to the gorges, near Baudinard, hold back 760 million cubic metres of water and supplies power to the nearby cities, towns and villages.

The lake is artificial and was created in 1973 when the Salles valley was flooded, following the construction of the Sainte-Croix dam. Watersports are, understandably, very popular here and the villages of Saint-Croixe du Verdon and Bauduen both make for fantastic places to explore the region.

The area is extremely popular during the summer months but when we visited the area in April we were able to find a quiet and secluded beach to film one of the dramatic high points of the film.