Ceillac is one of the first villages you reach in the Queyras regional park, a quiet corner of the southern French Alps near the Italian border. There is a small ski resort, but it has been kept separate from and above the main village, so the settlement retains its mountain character.
The houses still preserve their traditional features, and some bear painted sundials — a Queyras speciality found throughout the park but particularly well preserved here. The wildflowers in the surrounding Alpine pastures are fabulous, particularly in June and July. Walking trails lead up to Lac Miroir and Lac Sainte-Anne, both spectacularly set beneath rocky peaks. The lakes are the main reason to come in summer, and neither disappoints.