Beautiful villages in France - an original selection

Chilhac, in the Auvergne

Beautiful villages to discover, off the main tourist trails

Over 150 villages and small towns in France proudly promote themselves as one of the "most beautiful villages in France"; but this is just the tip of the iceberg, a label that villages can apply for ... at a price.
There are, on the other hand, litterally thousands of beautiful villages in France, and they can be found in all regions; but for many smaller villages, the cost and hassle involved in getting labeled as a "Plus beau village de France" is too great. So while the same 150 officially beautiful villages get listed in all the brochures, there are plenty more very beautiful villages in France that rarely get a mention except by local tourist offices with local knowledge.
Besides, since almost every regional tourist brochure and website, and many others too, vaunt the charms of the same villages with the "Plus beaux villages de France" label, these villages tend to attract hordes of visitors at weekends and in holiday periods, and can become patent illustrations of the often-ignored maxim that "Tourism is like seasoning on food. Some can make an improvement, a little more can make it perfect. A lot ruins it ....."
About-France.com helps you discover other beautiful villages – the parts of France that most tourists never reach.....

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Undiscovered villages of France

The "Plus beaux villages"

Beautiful villages without crowds..... an original selection

There is no official list of the most beautiful undiscovered villages in France; that would be a contradiction in terms. By definition, there is no such thing as an "undiscovered village"... But About-France.com presents a growing - but very incomplete - list of some of the most beautiful unspoilt villages in France, that have not been overrun by tourists.
These villages do not have any official "most beautiful village in France" label; but they are beautiful traditional villages, with plenty of character. Maybe they can't afford the official label; maybe they just don't get enough tourists to make it worthwhile.... In some cases they are just off the beaten track, and rather inaccessible to tour buses. But whatever the reason, the traditional French villages and small towns listed below are all worth a visit, and all have something, in addition to their character, to make them worth visiting.
Compared to the tourist hotspots of the most popular "plus beaux villages de France", these villages are relatively deserted. Just the village, and a few tourists looking - like you perhaps - for authentic French villages off the tourist trail.
How big is a village?
There is no formal definition of what constitutes a village. In France, places with up to about 1500 inhabitants often call themselves villages; another word used for compact historic villages is "bourg"; villages that are "bourgs" would normally be considered in English as small towns. For slightly larger places, with more amenities, see Best small towns in France

An original list of beautiful French villages

This list is different from the usual lists of best villages. None of the following are classed as "most beautiful villages in France" - though all of them are as fine as, and often more attractive and more authentic, than some of those that are.
Help expand this list: About-France.com welcomes suggestions from readers (Contact)

Region / Department	Village	Attractions
Alsace Haut Rhin	Turckheim near Colmar	A large Alsace wine growing village, quite popular, but less crowded than the highly visited "most beautiful villages" of Riquewihr or Eguisheim
Aquitaine Dordogne	Issigeac south of Bergerac	Ancient village, on a circular plan, in the countryside south of Bergerac. 17th century church, old stone and half-timbered houses. Popular sunday market
Aquitaine Lot et Garonne	Tournon d'Agenais near Villeneuve sur Lot	The former royal bastide town is perched on a hilltop overlooking the valley of the Boudouyssou. The almost perfectly preserved bourg is surrounded by its ramparts; it has a small central square, and an interesting belfry with a lunar clock.
Auvergne Haute Loire	Chilhac near Brioude	Clifftop village, remarkable basalt organ rocks, small top quality Paleontological museum, river swimming, campsite, kayaking. Beautiful area off the beaten track
Burgundy, Yonne	Chateauneuf en Auxois near Auxerre	Fine mediaeval fortress village, on a hilltop overlooking the Burgundy canal. Close to A6 motorway.
Burgundy, Saône et Loire	Brancion near Tournus	Small "mediaeval" hilltop village in south Burgundy, with castle and romanesque church with frescoes. The village is classed as a historic monument.
Brittany Morbihan	Saint Cado near Lorient	Little island village in the tidal estuary of the ria Etel, linked to mainland by stone bridge. 12th century chapel.
Franche-Comté Doubs	Nans sous Saint Anne near Salins les Bains	The source of the river Lison - a vauclusian resurgence - and the "Taillanderie", historic working scythe-making museum. Attractive hill country.
Languedoc Hérault	Saint-Jean de Buèges Northwest of Montpellier	A very pretty small village located in the dry "garrigue" landscape of inland Languedoc, in the valley of the Buège. Castle.
Languedoc Lozère	Chateauneuf de Randan north of Mende	Historic hilltop village at 1280 metres in the Margeride hills. Attractive square with cafés, ruined castle and "Calvaire" with views all round. Camping, good hiking area
Limousin Creuse	Moutier d'Ahun Near Guéret	Small village in the verdant Creuse valley; ancient Benedictine abbey, and "Roman" bridge across the Creuse. Deepest countryside all round.
Midi-Pyrenées Ariège	Carla-Bayle near Pamiers	One of the hilltop villages of the Pyrenean foothills. Still partly surrounded by walls, this village is an artists' colony. Lots of galleries and workshops open July and August, less in other months - but a delightful villageat any time of year.
Midi-Pyrenées Lot	Peyrusse- le-Roc near Figeac	Small village with old cobbled streets, remains of fortifications, and an impressive ruined mediaeval castle. Beautiful area off the beaten track
Midi-Pyrenées Aveyron	Castelnau Pegayrols	West of Millau, on a ridge above the Tarn valley. Stupendous views to the south. Castle (visits in July and August), guided tours, beautiful stone model of the village, two listed mediaeval churches, priory
Midi-Pyrenées Aveyron	Salles la-Source near Rodez	Very attractive village clinging to the steep scarp of a narrow valley. Spectacular waterfall, museum of rural life, romanesque church, vineyards close by.
Midi-Pyrenées Aveyron	Sainte Eulalie de Cernon near Millau	In a valley on the Larzac, a short distance from the A75 motorway, Sainte Eulalie is a small fortified village once a bastion of the Knights Templar. Mediaeval fortifications, narrow streets, less visited than the nearby La Couvertoirade.
Poitou-Charentes Charente-Maritime	Saint-Sauvan near Saintes	Village on an elevated location beside the Coran valley. XIth century romanesque church
Provence /Alpes Alpes-Maritimes	Gorbio Near Menton	A perched village, high up in the hills just behind Menton, and a few kilometres from the Italian border
Provence Alpes de Haute Provence	Simiane la Rotonde near Manosque	A beautiful old "perched village", in the Monts de Vaucluse. The village is dominated by its massive round mediaeval castle. Its narrow streets and houses cling to the hillside below the castle, above a valley with lavender fields.
Provence /Alpes Vaucluse	Saignon, near Apt	Perched on ridge at the edge of the Luberon, this delightful village has wonderful views all around. At one end of the village stands a mediaeval pilgrimage church, at the other, on a rocky outcrop. the remains of a castle. the two are linked by a narrow main street and a small shaded square with a historic fountain.
Rhone-Alpes Ardèche	Vinezac near Aubenas	Historic village amidst the vineyards and olive trees of the Ardèche, south of Aubenas. Romanesque church, plenty of character.
Rhone-Alpes Drôme	Saint May near Nyons	A very picturesque and unspoilt village perched on a rock in the gorge of the river Eygues. The small village church has been recently renovated. From the village a 2 km walk takes you to the remains of the historic Abbaye de Baudon. From vantage points, admire the valley and the massive griffon vultures that live on the surrounding crags.

The "Plus beaux villages de France " -

Historic Cordes sur Ciel, near Albi, has the "Plus beaux villages" label

Let's be quite honest; villages and small towns that obtain the "Plus beaux villages de France" label are generally very attractive places. Which is why some of them get lots of tourists - far too many of them.

Avoid...
Villages like Beynac, Saint Cirq Lapopie, Cordes sur Ciel, Conques, Montflanquin, Pérouges, Rocamadour, Riquewihr, Talmont sur Gironde, and most of the most popular "most beautiful villages in France" are definitely places to avoid in peak tourist periods, unless you really want to see them and have no other time to do so. If this is the case, make sure to choose a weekday, not a weekend.
That being said, overcrowding is a problem that essentially concerns the most popular plus beaux villages, those that are firmly on the tourist circuit. Many other "plus beaux villages" are less affected, as they are less well-known, or more off the beaten track. Examples that come to mind are Najac, on a rocky spur overlooking the gorges of the Aveyron (one of 10 plus beaux villages in the Aveyron), Sainte Suzanne in the Mayenne, or Blesle in the Auvergne.
But for the beautiful villages that are mentioned on all the tourist websites and in all the brochures, visiting at peak tourist perionds and busy weekends is not recommended. About-France.com has a series of pictures of the village and church at Conques, with hardly anyone about. But these pictures were taken in February. Where pretty French villages are concerned, there is definitely something to be said for seriously off-peak tourism – though on the downside, many of the cafés, craft shops, inns and small galleries that populate the most popular villages in France are closed out of season.

Official list of "most beautiful villages"

Click here to see the map of officially registered Plus beaux villages de France.

For more ideas on places to visit in each region, check out the tourist attractions section on each of the regional pages in the guide to the regions of France. In the end, it is up to you, the traveller, to decide for yourself what are the best places in France.

See also:

Best free tourist attractions in France
Wild France rural France and French hill country.

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	Beautiful villages in France
About-France.com - a thematic guide to France ► You are here: France › Tourism › Beautiful villages
A unique selection of some of the many beautiful villages in France, which are not usually crowded out with tourists. And also some of those that are......