River Deep, Mountain High

Where Provence and the Alps meet is the Verdon Gorge (Gorges du Verdon). At 15.5 miles long and almost 3,000 feet deep, it’s Europe’s largest canyon.

At around 6,700 feet above sea level, the village of Saint-Véran, in the Hautes-Alpes department is the highest municipality in Europe. At its highest point, the village reaches 10,417 feet above sea level. Briançon, also in Hautes-Alpes, is 4,350 feet high, and is Europe’s loftiest town.

And speaking of sea levels, Brittany and Normandy have the strongest tides in Europe, there being a difference of just under 50 feet between high and low tide.