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ince Roman times, travellers have flocked to Digne-les-Bains in lavender-fragranced northern Provence for its natural springs. Yet, even if her legs were understandably weary after 14 years of intrepid travels across Asia, for Alexandra David-Néel it was not the restorative powers of its spa waters that called her to the French town in 1928. Instead, the setting transported her back to her beloved Tibet, a country that, four years earlier in 1924, at the age of 55, she had crossed by foot disguised as a pilgrim to become the first European woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa. Born in Paris, David-Néel had spent the three years since returning to France in 1925 touring the country and hosting talks to establish her status as an expert in Tibet and Buddhist philosophy. Home was a temporary one: a rented villa in Toulon, a port city to the east of Marseille on the Mediterranean coast, where she wrote in vivid detail a rollicking recount of her adventure: Voyage d'une Parisienne à Lhassa (translated into English with the title My Journey to Lhasa). With the income from her writing, David-Néel was able to look for a place to call her own. When a real estate agent took her 150km inland to Digne-les-Bains, and she took in the mountains-meet-river landscape, it was as if she had found the closest thing to Tibet in her homeland. She purchased a small cottage on the outskirts of town on a hectare and a half of land, naming it "Samten Dzong", or "Residence of the Reflection". Recently restored to how it was when she lived there, Maison Alexandra David-Néel (as the property is now known) is open to visitors to learn more about the life and adventures of this pioneering woman. And 2024 is one of extra celebration, as it marks the centenary of her voyage to Lhasa, with two temporary exhibitions: a photographic study of David-Néels journey to Lhasa (until 31 March) and a collection of textile works inspired by David-Néels travels by Franco-Iranian artist Golnaz Payani (until 19 May). Since Roman times, travellers have flocked to Digne-les-Bains in lavender-fragranced northern Provence for its natural springs. Yet, even if her legs were understandably weary after 14 years of intrepid travels across Asia, for Alexandra David-Néel it was not the restorative powers of its spa waters that called her to the French town in 1928. Instead, the setting transported her back to her beloved Tibet, a country that, four years earlier in 1924, at the age of 55, she had crossed by foot disguised as a pilgrim to become the first European woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa. Born in Paris, David-Néel had spent the three years since returning to France in 1925 touring the country and hosting talks to establish her status as an expert in Tibet and Buddhist philosophy. Home was a temporary one: a rented villa in Toulon, a port city to the east of Marseille on the Mediterranean coast, where she wrote in vivid detail a rollicking recount of her adventure: Voyage d'une Parisienne à Lhassa (translated into English with the title My Journey to Lhasa). With the income from her writing, David-Néel was able to look for a place to call her own. When a real estate agent took her 150km inland to Digne-les-Bains, and she took in the mountains-meet-river landscape, it was as if she had found the closest thing to Tibet in her homeland. She purchased a small cottage on the outskirts of town on a hectare and a half of land, naming it "Samten Dzong", or "Residence of the Reflection". Recently restored to how it was when she lived there, Maison Alexandra David-Néel (as the property is now known) is open to visitors to learn more about the life and adventures of this pioneering woman. And 2024 is one of extra celebration, as it marks the centenary of her voyage to Lhasa, with two temporary exhibitions: a photographic study of David-Néels journey to Lhasa (until 31 March) and a collection of textile works inspired by David-Néels travels by Franco-Iranian artist Golnaz Payani (until 19 May).