France.
Montignac-Lascaux
Lascaux Cave, one of the world's most celebrated prehistoric painted caves, sits just outside this tiny village on the Vézère river in the Dordogne, making M…
Saint-Flour
This particularly photogenic compact town in the Cantal département of south-central France, Saint-Flour sits above scenic surroundings with mountain views a…
Conques
This tiny village in Aveyron whose Romanesque abbey church and its treasury — including a gold statue of Sainte Foy — earned UNESCO World Heritage status in…
Gisors
Gisors, a compact Norman town in the Eure department within easy reach of Paris, is dominated by a medieval castle that has stood on its mound since the Midd…
Abondance
Abondance, a tiny Alpine village in Haute-Savoie just south of Lake Geneva, lends its name to both a regional cheese and the breed of cattle whose milk produ…
Aire-sur-la-Lys
A fortified town on the River Lys in northern France's Pas-de-Calais, Aire-sur-la-Lys has a photogenic centre with cafés and restaurants along the waterfront…
Modane
Compact town in the Maurienne Valley of Savoie, Modane sits within the Vanoise National Park close to the Italian border, with mountain scenery on all sides…
Saint-Claude
Small mountain town in eastern France's Jura department, Saint-Claude sits on the river Bienne amid highland terrain with scenic viewpoints in the surroundin…
Rocamadour
Medieval pilgrimage village in the Lot département of southwestern France, Rocamadour clings to a cliff face rising steeply above the Alzou valley, with a co…
Cauterets
This spa town and ski resort in the French Pyrenees, Cauterets sits along the Gave de Pau river within the Pyrénées National Park, surrounded by mountain sce…
Bastia
Corsica's principal port and commercial hub, Bastia sits at the base of Cap Corse on the island's northeast coast, where a walkable harbour front, small fort…
Donzy
A compact Burgundian village of terracotta rooftops and stone-built streets, dominated by a tall Gothic church tower, with a river meadow landscape spreading…
Moulins
This heritage-dense town on the river Allier in central France, Moulins is the historic capital of the Bourbonnais province and holds a walkable centre with…
Termignon
This tiny, photogenic village in the Maurienne valley of Savoie, Termignon sits alongside the water with scenic mountain surrounds and, for a settlement this…
Cremieu
A little medieval town in Isère, southeastern France, Crémieu has preserved its historic centre largely intact and hosts an annual September festival, Les Mé…
Joinville
This small town on the water in Haute-Marne, north-eastern France, Joinville carries a layered medieval history: it was the seat of a lordship in the county…
Saorge
Particularly photogenic and a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association, Saorge is a compact hilltop village in the Alpes-Maritimes with an…
Terrasson-Lavilledieu
This small town on the Vézère river in the Dordogne, Terrasson-Lavilledieu is known for its Jardins de l'Imaginaire, a medieval-origin market trading in truf…
Estaing
Estaing, a modest village on the Lot river in Aveyron, is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and carries an unusual concentration of protected his…
Niort
Walkable town in western France's Deux-Sèvres department, Niort sits on the Sèvre Niortaise river and serves as the eastern gateway to the Marais Poitevin re…
Étretat
The white chalk cliffs of Étretat — rising high above a grey pebble beach on Normandy's Alabaster Coast — drew Monet, Courbet, Boudin, Maupassant, and Flaube…
La Canourgue
Known in French as "La petite Venise lozérienne" — the Little Venice of Lozère — this compact village in southern France's Lozère department sits alongside m…
Saint-Amand-les-Eaux
A walkable town on the river Scarpe in northern France's Nord department, Saint-Amand-les-Eaux has a centre with a real café and restaurant scene and sits on…
Forcalquier
Once the capital of a flourishing county in medieval Haute-Provence, Forcalquier is a tiny town in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence sitting between the Lure and L…
Senlis
This compact historic town in the Oise department north of Paris, Senlis preserves a medieval old quarter of ancient lanes and houses enclosed within Gallo-R…
Colmars
A small fortified village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Colmars-les-Alpes holds membership in the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, a recognit…
Espalion
A little town in the Aveyron department of southern France, Espalion sits directly on the Lot river, with a café and restaurant scene in its compact centre a…
Béziers
Every August, the Feria de Béziers draws around a million visitors to this southern French wine town for five days of bullfighting — one of the largest event…
Collioure
A Mediterranean fishing village on the French Catalan coast where the last ridges of the Pyrenees meet the sea, Collioure has long drawn artists to its water…
Quimper
Quimper faience — white glazed pottery with colourful painted designs — is the signature craft of this Breton town, the prefecture of Finistère in northweste…
Pesmes
This village on the banks of the Ognon river in Haute-Saône holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and carries a dense concentration of listed…
Foix
The castle of the Counts of Foix, classified as a historic monument since 1840, rises on a rock above this modest medieval town at the foot of the Pyrenees i…
Toul
This compact town in Lorraine where an ornate Gothic cathedral with twin towers and intricate stone lacework dominates the old centre, set alongside a river…
Clermont-l'Hérault
A modest wine-country town in the Hérault department of southern France, Clermont-l'Hérault sits alongside the Lergue and Salagou rivers and carries a café a…
Banyuls-sur-Mer
Banyuls-sur-Mer gives its name to the surrounding wine region and sits on a bay at the southern end of France's Mediterranean coast, making it the country's…
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence with an unusual density of cafés and restaurants for its size, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie sits against a rocky escarpment…
Thônes
Modest town in the French Alps of Haute-Savoie known as the capital of Reblochon and Chevrotin cheeses, Thônes sits at a crossroads in the Aravis mountain ar…
Figeac
Tiny town on the Célé river in France's Lot department, Figeac draws summer visitors in numbers that have earned it the "Grand Site d'Occitanie" label, along…
Sainte-Enimie
This photogenic village in the Gorges du Tarn in southern France's Lozère, Sainte-Enimie sits directly on the river and holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Vi…
Gérardmer
Sitting directly on its own lake in the Vosges mountains of northeastern France, Gérardmer is a compact town with a café and restaurant scene that would suit…
Mirecourt
Mirecourt, a tiny town in the Vosges department of northeastern France, has long been known for two distinct crafts: lace-making and the manufacture of strin…
Saint-Céré
This compact town in the Lot department of southern France, Saint-Céré sits on the River Bave with vineyards in the surrounding countryside and scenic views…
Calvi
This small Corsican town on the northwest coast with a waterfront setting, a café and restaurant scene that outpaces the town's size, and scenic viewpoints a…
Aubusson
Tapestry-making has defined Aubusson for centuries, earning this modest town in France's Creuse department a reputation that extends well beyond its size.
Lodève
This small town in the Hérault department of southern France's Occitania region, Lodève sits at the confluence of several rivers and offers a compact central…
Chenonceaux
Château de Chenonceau, built across the River Cher and the most visited château in France after Versailles, sits at the edge of this little hamlet in the Ind…
La Roque-Gageac
Sitting directly on the Dordogne river in southwestern France, this tiny village carries membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and a strong reputat…
Decize
This stone arched bridge crosses a wide river into this compact Burgundian town, where a Romanesque church tower and slate-roofed buildings rise above a live…
Corte
Corte served as the capital of independent Corsica under Pascal Paoli between 1755 and 1769, and the town still carries that history at its centre — the cita…
Saint-Lary-Soulan
This dual-season mountain resort village in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Saint-Lary-Soulan draws skiers in winter to its slopes at Pla d'Adet and Espiaube, and hiker…
Neuville-sous-Montreuil
The Chartreuse Notre-Dame-des-Prés, a Carthusian monastery founded in 1325 and the largest preserved Carthusian monastery in France, sits in this small villa…
Joigny
A tiny wine-country town on the river Yonne in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Joigny has a medieval old town that has earned the Pays d'art et d'histoire designati…
Montauban
Founded in 1144 by the Count of Toulouse, Montauban is a reddish-brick town on the Tarn river in southern France, known as the birthplace of the 19th-century…
Campan
This mountain village in the French Pyrenees, Campan sits within the Pyrénées National Park on terrain drained by the Adour river and several tributaries.
Montargis
Laced with canals and bridges along the Loing and several other waterways, Montargis is a walkable town in the Loiret that markets itself as the "Venice of t…
Josselin
A multi-turreted medieval castle rises directly from the riverbank in this tiny Breton village, its grey stone towers reflected in the calm water below, with…
Wimereux
Seafront resort town on the Opal Coast in Pas-de-Calais, Wimereux sits where the river of the same name meets the English Channel, just north of Boulogne-sur…
Ménerbes
This walled hilltop village in the Luberon mountains of Provence, Ménerbes holds membership in the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association and sits in…
Meyrueis
A compact mountain village in southern Lozère where the Jonte river runs through the centre, Meyrueis sits within the Cévennes and is flanked by the gorges o…
Tourcoing
This city on France's Belgian border, Tourcoing sits within the vast Lille metropolitan area and shares in the cross-border Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai cooperatio…
Auch
This walkable Gascon town in southwestern France's Gers department, Auch sits on the River Gers and is known for its gastronomic scene, its cathedral, and a…
Beaune
Widely regarded as the wine capital of Burgundy, Beaune is a walled town in eastern France whose historic centre holds the cellars and facilities of wine pro…
Vitrac
A small Dordogne village on the water in southwestern France, with a photogenic setting and a handful of cafés and restaurants that punch above its size.
Plombières-les-Bains
A spa village in the Vosges whose thermal springs were first developed by the Romans, Plombières-les-Bains drew an extraordinary roll of visitors over the ce…
Cordes-sur-Ciel
Built in 1222 by Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, on a ridge high enough above the Cérou valley to earn the name "sur-Ciel" (above the sky), this medieval for…
Stazzona
This compact cluster of grey-stone houses rises through dense forest on a Corsican hillside, with layered mountain ridges behind and the wooded Castagniccia…
Maintenon
The Château de Maintenon, built across several centuries from the 12th to the 18th and enlarged by Madame de Maintenon with gardens laid out by Le Nôtre, anc…
Sartène
A small sub-prefecture in southern Corsica's Corse-du-Sud department, Sartène is an inland granite town with valley views and a café and restaurant scene str…
Le Puy-en-Velay
One of the principal starting points for the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Le Puy-en-Velay is a heritage-dense town in south-central France's A…
Saint-Pons-de-Thomières
Sitting beside the river Jaur in southern France's Hérault department, Saint-Pons-de-Thomières is a small cathedral village and the capital of the Haut-Langu…
Lamanère
The southernmost hamlet in continental France, Lamanère sits in the Pyrénées-Orientales amid mountain terrain drained by several small rivers and streams.
Morlaix
Walkable Breton town in Finistère whose centre sits at the confluence of two rivers, Morlaix is defined by its 19th-century viaduct rising through the heart…
Bavay
Once the capital of the Nervii during the Roman Empire, Bavay is a compact town in northern France's Nord department whose Gallo-Roman forum and departmental…
Tende
Mountain village in the Alpes-Maritimes with an unusual number of churches for its size, Tende sits alongside a river in high alpine terrain near the French-…
Pont-Audemer
This small Normandy town where tall half-timbered buildings line waterside streets, Pont-Audemer rewards a stroll with its well-preserved medieval architectu…
Ax-les-Thermes
Thermal spa village in the Ariège Pyrenees with more than sixty hot springs, Ax-les-Thermes also operates a winter ski area — Ax 3 Domaines, established in D…
Morbier
Morbier, a village in the Jura mountains of eastern France, lent its name to the cheese produced across the wider Jura region and was, alongside Morez, the c…
Rodes
This compact stone village in southern France's Pyrénées-Orientales, where red-tile rooftops and a brick clock tower rise toward dramatic rocky outcrops topp…
Soissons
One of France's most ancient towns, Soissons sits on the river Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region, with a walkable centre full of cafés and a strong archite…
Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Spa town in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, Bagnères-de-Bigorre sits in the valley of the Adour river and offers a café and restaurant scene that holds…
Montmelian
Compact Savoie town set in a river valley between forested hills and vine-covered slopes, with a rocky outcrop rising above its grey-roofed centre and easy r…
Béthune
A walkable town in northern France's Pas-de-Calais with a café-filled centre and a strong photographic profile, Béthune sits between the hills of Artois and…
Murat
Compact mountain town in the Cantal department of south-central France, Murat sits in volcanic highland terrain with scenic surrounds and a concentration of…
Nonza
Small Corsican hillside village of stone and pastel houses, crowned by a watchtower, with dramatic mountain ridges behind and the sea close below.
Aussois
A pocket-sized ski and mountain village on the edge of the Vanoise National Park — France's first — in the Savoie department of the Alps, Aussois draws winte…
Château-Verdun
A hamlet in the upper Ariège valley of southwestern France, Château-Verdun sits beside the Aston river in mountain country and holds a nationally listed monu…
Châteaudun
A heritage-dense town on the Loir river in Eure-et-Loir, Châteaudun has a compact centre with a strong concentration of listed buildings — among them a 1938…
Saint-Alban-de-Montbel
A pocket-sized French hamlet in Savoie where low-rise houses with dark-roofed chalets cluster at the edge of a calm green lake, backed by dramatic limestone…
Cassel
Perched on a prominent hill above French Flanders, Cassel is a modest commune in the Nord department with panoramic views from the summit of Mont Cassel and…
Sancerre
Sancerre is a medieval hilltop village in the Cher département of Centre-Val de Loire, overlooking the Loire river and recognized as one of France's most bea…
Sète
This Mediterranean port town in southern France's Hérault department, Sète is built across canals between the sea and the Étang de Thau lagoon, climbing up t…
Gaillon
A compact Norman town of half-timbered houses and slate rooftops rising above a river valley, Gaillon pairs a walkable central core of cafés with vineyard su…
Cluny
Founded in 910 by Duke William I of Aquitaine, the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny shaped this little Burgundian town into one of medieval Europe's great centres…
Castres
Castres, a town in southern France's Tarn department, is the birthplace of socialist leader Jean Jaurès and home to the Goya Museum, one of France's leading…
Saint-Quentin
A photogenic town in northern France's Aisne department with a walkable centre and a dense food-and-drink scene, Saint-Quentin sits on the Somme river and tr…
Trélon
A red-ironwork bandstand draped in summer flowers anchors the town square of this Nord village, where brick-and-stone civic architecture and proximity to the…
Romorantin-Lanthenay
A compact French town where a flower-lined weir and stone arched bridge span a calm river, with a church steeple and cream-rendered townhouses forming the ba…
Douarnenez
This photogenic port town on Douarnenez Bay in Brittany, long famous for sardine fishing and canning, with a walkable centre and a food-and-drink scene to ma…
Marvejols
This little town in the Lozère department of southern France, Marvejols sits on the Colagne river in mountain terrain and served as a royal town and capital…
Esterre
A small hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Esterre sits alongside the Bastan river within the Pyrénées National Park, surrounded by mountain scenery and scenic v…
Olargues
A medieval village on the Jaur river in southern France's Hérault, Olargues sits within the Haut-Languedoc regional nature park and carries a listing among L…
Castelnaudary
Castelnaudary, a small town in the Aude department of southern France's Occitanie region, claims to be the world capital of cassoulet and is a major producer…
Saint-Beauzély
This village in Aveyron's Grands Causses regional nature park, Saint-Beauzély sits on the right bank of the Muze river on the southern slopes of the Lévézou…
Ligny-en-Barrois
This pocket-sized town in the Meuse département of northeastern France, Ligny-en-Barrois sits alongside the Rhine-Marne canal and carries a "Village étape" d…
Cluses
Sitting on the Arve river in the Alps of Haute-Savoie, Cluses is a town with a walkable centre, a café scene, and steep mountain slopes rising on either side.
Lods
This tiny hamlet on the Loue river in eastern France's Doubs département sits among vineyards and carries membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, th…
Angles-sur-lAnglin
This small village on the Anglin river in the Vienne département, Angles-sur-l'Anglin is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and carries a strong p…
Dinan
A walled Breton town in the Côtes-d'Armor department of northwestern France, Dinan sits on a hill above the Rance river, its medieval ramparts and château fo…
Mende
Mende is the little prefecture of France's Lozère department in Occitania, set along the River Lot amid mountain terrain and offering a café and restaurant s…
La Ferté-Bernard
Tiny French town in the Sarthe where a grand Gothic church with flying buttresses and intricate stone carvings dominates the centre, complemented by watersid…
Lillers
This small town in Pas-de-Calais where the river Clarence runs through the centre, Lillers has a compact core with cafés and restaurants and four listed hist…
Yvoire
A medieval village on the shore of Lake Geneva in Haute-Savoie, Yvoire holds a strong visual appeal — its flower-filled streets have earned it a place among…
Mirepoix
A heritage-dense tiny town in the Ariège department of southwestern France, Mirepoix sits on the River Hers-Vif with a café and restaurant scene that punches…
Salins-les-Bains
Salt has shaped Salins-les-Bains since the fifth millennium BC, and the town's historic saltworks — added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2009 as an ext…
Nantua
Sitting directly on the glacial Lac de Nantua in the southern foothills of the Jura Mountains, this small French town in the Ain département is known for its…
Bram
Sitting on the Canal du Midi between Castelnaudary and Carcassonne, Bram is a tiny town in the Aude department of southern France's Occitanie region, with ra…
Brousse-le-Château
This compact Aveyron hamlet sits at the confluence of two rivers and holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, the association recognising Franc…
Saintes
Sitting on the Charente river in western France, Saintes carries one of the region's most substantial Gallo-Roman, medieval, and classical heritage records —…
Eymoutiers
This compact stone-built town in the wooded hills of Haute-Vienne, with a square-towered church rising above terracotta rooftops, riverside setting, and enou…
Cléron
Sitting on the left bank of the Loue river in the Jura massif's first plateau, this little village in the Doubs is dominated by a 13th- and 14th-century cast…
Quézac
Tiny stone-built village in the Lozère gorge country, Quézac centres on a handsome church tower and fountain square, with forested limestone hills rising sha…
Nant
This little village in eastern Aveyron sits alongside a river with mountain views in the distance, and carries an unusually dense architectural record for it…
Aiguèze
Sitting on the Ardèche river in southern France's Gard department, this modest village has been a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France since 2005 — th…
Arrien-en-Bethmale
This small hamlet in the Ariège department of south-western France, Arrien-en-Bethmale sits within the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées ariégeoises, draine…
Bazas
Bazas, a small town in Gironde in southwestern France, was an episcopal seat until the French Revolution and retains a substantial collection of medieval mon…
Le Malzieu-Ville
This member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France since 2021, this compact village in the Lozère department of southern France sits along the river Truyère in…
Murol
Grey-stone village in the volcanic uplands of Auvergne, seen here from a high vantage point above dense forest, with a lakeside setting, nearby scenic viewpo…
Bourg-en-Bresse
A food-focused town in eastern France's Ain department, Bourg-en-Bresse is the historic capital of the Bresse region and sits within easy reach of both Lyon…
Ascain
A modest Basque town in the French Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Ascain sits on the Nivelle river at the foot of La Rhune — the last peak of the Pyrenees before the…
Chamrousse
Chamrousse, a ski resort village in the Belledonne range above Grenoble, holds a particular place in French skiing history: the sport was first practised her…
Saint-Florent
A former fishing port on the Gulf of Saint-Florent in Haute-Corse, this small Corsican village now fills its harbour with pleasure boats and its waterfront w…
Pérouges
This medieval walled village in the Ain department, northeast of Lyon, Pérouges is listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France and carries one of the most…
Olette
A pocket-sized commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales whose village of Évol holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Olette sits along the Têt rive…
Salers
Salers, a tiny village in the Cantal department of south-central France, is the origin of both the Salers breed of cattle and the AOC-protected Salers cheese…
Romans-sur-Isère
A walkable town on the Isère river in the Drôme department of southeastern France, Romans-sur-Isère has a dense food-and-drink scene in its centre alongside…
Zonza
A compact Corsican village of granite-stone houses and terracotta rooftops, dominated by a Gothic-arched church and tall clock tower, set against densely for…
Jausiers
Compact Alpine village in the Ubaye valley, Jausiers clusters stone and rendered houses beside a river, with two church towers rising against forested mounta…
Oletta
Hillside Corsican village of warm ochre and terracotta buildings stacked dramatically above dense green woodland, Oletta offers an authentic Nebbio interior…
Sainte-Eulalie-d'Olt
This small Aveyron hamlet on the Lot river holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and carries two protected historic monuments: the church of…
Haybes
Sitting on the Meuse river in the French Ardennes, Haybes earned the nickname Haybes-la-Jolie from its slate-roofed architecture — the slate quarrying that o…
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
Clinging to a steep cliff above the Lot river in south-western France, this small Quercy village draws visitors with dramatic viewpoints, a strong café and r…
Autoire
This modest hamlet in the Lot department of southwestern France is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, set on the Causse de Gramat — the largest a…
Gimel-les-Cascades
A cluster of grey-stone houses and old fortified walls rises above a deep, densely wooded valley in Corrèze, where the village's namesake cascades draw walke…
Ornans
Birthplace of the painter Gustave Courbet, this little town in the Doubs department sits along the Loue river in the Jura massif, its house facades rising di…
Villedieu-les-Poêles
Copper-working has defined this compact Normandy town for centuries: the second half of its name, "les Poêles," was added in 1962 to reflect its long traditi…
Le Tech
A small hamlet in the mountains of southern France's Pyrénées-Orientales, Le Tech sits alongside the Tech river in the Vallespir, a valley historically attac…
Bonneville
This flower-filled stone fountain anchors Bonneville's cobbled main square, backed by a salmon-pink town hall and Alpine ridgelines, making this Haute-Savoie…
Dreux
A town in Eure-et-Loir drained by the Avre and Blaise rivers, Dreux has a compact centre with cafés, restaurants, and several historic churches, including th…
Saint-Etienne-de-Baigorry
This little Basque village in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques sitting on the Nive des Aldudes river, Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry is the main gateway to the Aldudes va…
La Romieu
A member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, this small Gers village in southwestern France is anchored by the 14th-century Collégiale Saint-Pierre, whose…
Arrens-Marsous
This mountain village in the Hautes-Pyrénées, formed in 1973 from the merger of Arrens and Marsous, sitting alongside the Gave d'Azun river within the Pyréné…
Arcachon
A well-established Atlantic seaside resort in the Gironde, Arcachon was created in 1857 as a destination in its own right, set within the Landes forest south…
Champagnole
This small town in the Jura department of eastern France, Champagnole sits on the right bank of the Ain river at the heart of the Jura massif's second platea…
Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste
Walled medieval village in the French Pyrenees, Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste sits on the Tech river close to the Spanish border and belongs to the Les Plus Beaux…
Fayence
This hilltop village in the Var department of Provence, Fayence sits above the plain between the southern Alps and the Esterel massif, with cafés and restaur…
Gavarnie
This small Pyrenean hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées is the gateway to the Cirque de Gavarnie, a massive glacial cirque and UNESCO World Heritage Site that also…
Tarbes
A walkable town at the foot of the Pyrenees in southwestern France, Tarbes has a dense food-and-drink scene in its centre, a concentration of historic church…
Douai
Douai's medieval belfry — one of the most impressive in northern France's Nord département — rises above a walkable town centre on the river Scarpe, with a r…
Périgueux
Périgueux, the historic capital of the Périgord region in southwestern France's Dordogne, sits on the Isle river and holds a layered heritage running from Ro…
Tournus
This compact Burgundian town on the Saône river with a café and restaurant scene that is well stocked for its size, Tournus sits in the heart of Bourgogne-Fr…
Bonifacio
Modest commune at the southern tip of Corsica with an unusual concentration of cafés, restaurants, and churches for its size, and scenic viewpoints that make…
Cerdon
This little village in the Ain department of eastern France is known for two things: its pink sparkling wine and a copper factory — once the only one of its…
Viviers
This modest town on the Rhône in southern France's Ardèche, Viviers was once the capital of the historic Vivarais province — a name it gave to the entire reg…
Lussan
This compact village on a rocky outcrop above the garrigue scrubland of the Gard in southern France, Lussan was added to the Les Plus Beaux Villages de Franc…
Huelgoat
A little Breton village in the heart of the Argoat, Huelgoat sits beside a lake within the Armorique Regional Natural Park and earned a rural heritage label…
Lautrec
Lautrec, a village in the Tarn department of southern France, is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and the ancestral home of the Toulouse-Lautrec…
Florac
This modest riverside village in the Lozère department of southern France, Florac sits at the heart of the Cévennes National Park — whose headquarters are ba…
Gruissan
A little Mediterranean coastal town in the Aude, southeast of Narbonne, Gruissan sits within the Narbonnaise en Méditerranée regional nature park alongside l…
Vivario
A small Corsican village at the foot of the Col de Vizzavona, Vivario sits where the mountain climb begins and the surrounding terrain opens into scenic high…
Charcenne
A small hamlet in eastern France's Haute-Saône, Charcenne sits alongside the Colombine stream at the foot of the Monts de Gy, with mountain views and wine-co…
Château-Chalon
Vin jaune — the prized yellow wine of the Jura — reaches its most celebrated expression in Château-Chalon, a little cliff-top village in eastern France whose…
Jonzac
A spa town in the Charente-Maritime since 1986, Jonzac sits on the Seugne river in the heart of Cognac wine country, with a café and restaurant scene that pu…
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
One of France's most storied seaside resorts, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage sits on the Opal Coast at the mouth of the Canche river in Pas-de-Calais, with a wide be…
Lutzelbourg
A photogenic village in the Lorraine region of Moselle, set on the Marne-Rhine Canal amid hilly terrain with several scenic viewpoints.
Montbéliard
Montbéliard, in eastern France's Doubs department near the Swiss border and the Jura massif, is known across France for its Christmas market and carries the…
Talmont-sur-Gironde
Founded in 1284 by Edward I of England, Duke of Aquitaine, this tiny hamlet on a promontory above the Gironde estuary in Charente-Maritime holds the 12th-cen…
Mazamet
Tiny town in southern France's Tarn department at the foot of the Montagne Noire massif, Mazamet sits within the Haut-Languedoc regional nature park, roughly…
Noyers
Well-preserved medieval village on the river Serein in Burgundy's Yonne department, Noyers-sur-Serein is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, with…
Saint-Martin-de-Re
This waterfront village on the Île de Ré, off the Charente-Maritime coast near La Rochelle, Saint-Martin-de-Ré is home to Vauban's 17th-century fortification…
Cadéac
A small hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées of south-western France, Cadéac sits on the Neste river in the Pays d'Aure, a mountain valley region in Occitanie.
Bidart
A small Basque Atlantic-coast town in southwestern France, Bidart stretches along several kilometres of shoreline where heavily folded cliffs drop down to be…
Albi
Known as the "red city" for the ochre brick of its fortified cathedral and historic centre, Albi is a UNESCO World Heritage town on the river Tarn in souther…
Sombacour
This compact village of pale stone houses and red-tile roofs spread across rolling green pastures in the Doubs, with a prominent church tower offering sweepi…
Apt
This small Provençal town on the Calavon river in the Luberon mountains of Vaucluse, Apt has a café and restaurant scene that would suit a town twice its siz…
Rupt-sur-Saône
This modest stone-built village in eastern France's Haute-Saône, where red-tile rooftops cluster around a striking medieval church tower above rolling green…
Ambleteuse
This compact coastal village on the Opal Coast in northern France's Pas-de-Calais, Ambleteuse sits at the mouth of the Slack river where, on clear days, the…
Abbans-Dessus
This tiny stone-and-orange-tile village in the rolling hills of Doubs, Abbans-Dessus commands sweeping views over a wide pastoral valley with a river glintin…
Hayange
A compact Moselle town spread across a wooded valley in Lorraine, where stone viaducts, a dense historic core, and forested hillsides combine to give the are…
Lourmarin
This Provençal village in the Vaucluse holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and pairs a café and restaurant scene unusually dense for its si…
Pont-à-Mousson
Town on the Moselle river in north-eastern France's Meurthe-et-Moselle department, Pont-à-Mousson has a compact centre with cafés and restaurants and a notab…
Coaraze
This compact hilltop village in the Alpes-Maritimes backcountry, Coaraze rises above olive-covered slopes with tightly stacked stone and pastel houses crowne…
Pont-Aven
Known as "the city of painters," this pocket-sized Breton town on the Aven river drew Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, William Bouguereau, and a number of other…
Cocurès
Tiny stone-built hamlet in Lozère's upland Occitanie countryside, where rough-hewn medieval buildings line a narrow lane opening onto forested green hills, w…
Sisteron
Wedged into a narrow gap between two long mountain ridges where the Durance, Buëch, and Sasse rivers converge, Sisteron has served as the gateway between Pro…
Penne
A compact village in the Tarn department of southern France, Penne sits on the river Aveyron amid the gorges and causse landscape of Occitanie, with three Na…
Die
Clairette de Die, a sparkling wine produced in the surrounding Diois region, is the calling card of this little subprefecture in southeastern France's Drôme…
Palalda
This compact hillside village in the French Pyrenees, its terracotta-roofed stone houses stacking up a forested slope above a river valley, with a handful of…
Montbard
Birthplace of the naturalist Buffon, this small industrial town in Burgundy's Côte-d'Or sits on the Burgundy Canal and the river Brenne, with TGV connections…
Carmaux
Coal mining and glassmaking shaped Carmaux, a tiny town in the Tarn department of southern France's Occitanie region, and it was here that the socialist stat…
Ota
This little Corsican village of stone and terracotta-roofed houses spread across a forested hillside, with dramatic red-rock peaks rising directly behind and…
Clemensat
A tiny French hamlet of dark volcanic-stone buildings set against rolling green upland pastures, Clémensat offers a genuine taste of rural Auvergne close to…
Montmédy
This compact French town in the Meuse hills of Grand Est, its red-tile rooftops spread across a valley floor viewed from elevated ground, with a waterway nea…
Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere
A compact village on the Vézère river in the Dordogne, Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France — the national association…
Le Rozier
A small hamlet in the Lozère department of southern France where the Tarn and Jonte rivers meet, Le Rozier sits at the entrance to the Gorges du Tarn and Gor…
Dole
Birthplace of Louis Pasteur, Dole preserves the scientist's childhood home as a dedicated museum and retains a rich architectural legacy from its time as the…
Les Vans
A tiny village in the Ardèche with an unusually lively café and restaurant scene for its size, Les Vans sits on the water in the Cévennes area of southern Fr…
Villefranche-de-Conflent
Enclosed within intact medieval walls in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Villefranche-de-Conflent is a tiny Catalan village in southern France where the Têt and Cad…
Saint-Jean-de-Luz
A little beach resort on the Bay of Biscay in France's Basque Country, Saint-Jean-de-Luz sits at the mouth of the River Nivelle near the Spanish border, with…
Ilhet
This small hamlet in the eastern Hautes-Pyrénées sits along the Neste river in the Pays d'Aure, a highland area shaped by the valleys of Aure and Louron.
Faverney
Faverney, a village in the Haute-Saône department of eastern France's Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, is known internationally for the Miracle of Faverney —…
Tournon-sur-Rhône
Small Rhône-side town in the Ardèche, Tournon-sur-Rhône sits in deep wine country north of Valence with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size.
Eus
This tiny village in the Pyrénées-Orientales that holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Eus sits in the Conflent country of southern France,…
Villefranche-de-Rouergue
This little town in the Aveyron department of southern France, Villefranche-de-Rouergue holds both a "Ville d'Art et d'Histoire" designation and the "Grand S…
Voiron
A gateway town to the Chartreuse Mountains in southeastern France, Voiron sits at the foot of the range with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants,…
Ispoure
A small Basque village in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Ispoure sits in mountain terrain in the former province of Lower Navarre, with scenic viewpoints in the s…
Tresserve
This tiny town in Savoie sits on a hill between Aix-les-Bains to the east and Lac du Bourget — France's largest natural glacial lake — to the west, with scen…
Hénin-Beaumont
Three UNESCO World Heritage sites from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining basin sit within Hénin-Beaumont itself, a town in Pas-de-Calais formed by the 1971 merge…
Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne
A tiny French hamlet in the Doubs, where a stone-towered church sits at the foot of densely forested limestone cliffs, with a war memorial square and old sto…
Nasbinals
A compact stone village in France's Aubrac regional park, where slate-roofed granite buildings cluster around a Romanesque church against a backdrop of rolli…
Elne
Once the first capital of the historical province of Roussillon before Perpignan took that role, Elne is a small town in southern France's Pyrénées-Orientale…
Leucate
A small Mediterranean coastal town in the Aude, Leucate sits between the sea and the Étang de Leucate lagoon, with a café and restaurant scene that punches a…
Lannion
A walkable Breton town on the river with a centre full of cafés and restaurants, Lannion sits in the Côtes-d'Armor department of northwestern France and serv…
Mosset
Small rural hamlet in the Conflent country of the Pyrénées-Orientales, Mosset sits within the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées catalanes and is drained by…
Céret
Known for its modern art museum, cherry harvests, and bullfighting tradition, Céret is a tiny Catalan town in southern France's Pyrénées-Orientales, sitting…
Port-Lesney
A small village on the banks of the Loue river in the Jura, Port-Lesney draws visitors with a five-star château hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a r…
Sarlat-la-Canéda
Sarlat-la-Canéda's medieval and early Renaissance centre — a dense network of narrow lanes, shaded squares, and stone mansions with lauze-tile roofs — was th…
Bar-le-Duc
First recorded in 1344, the currant preserve known as Bar-le-Duc jelly — sometimes called "Bar caviar" — takes its name from this Renaissance town in northea…
Chaudes-Aigues
A spa village in the Cantal department of south-central France, Chaudes-Aigues — whose name translates as "Hot Waters" — has been known for its thermal sprin…
La Condamine
La Condamine is Monaco's commercial ward, running along Port Hercules between the old rock of Monaco-Ville to the west and Monte-Carlo to the east.
Lavardens
This modest village in the Gers department of southwestern France, Lavardens holds membership in the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association and sits i…
Saint-Lary
This tiny stone-built village on the Pyrenean Route, where a narrow road lined with slate-roofed farmhouses and a round-towered church leads into densely for…
Tréguier
Small port town on the Breton coast in Côtes-d'Armor, Tréguier has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, with waterfront access and a hist…
Lordat
The ruins of Lordat's castle, a classified historic monument since 1923, sit on a rocky spur above the upper Ariège valley in southwestern France, with wide…
La Bastide-Clairence
Navarrese bastide village in the Basque province of Basse-Navarre, La Bastide-Clairence holds membership in the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association…
Remiremont
A modest town in the Vosges where the Moselle and Moselotte rivers meet, Remiremont has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, and sits at…
Issoire
This compact French town in the Auvergne, its dense orange-tile rooftops dominated by a striking Romanesque church with twin towers, set against rolling upla…
Cerbère
Pocket-sized French village where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean, Cerbère sits at the southernmost seaside point of mainland France and serves as a key…
Argenton-sur-Creuse
A modest town in the Indre department of central France, Argenton-sur-Creuse sits along the Creuse river with a café and restaurant scene in its compact cent…
Villersexel
The Ognon river runs through this modest village in eastern France's Haute-Saône, making it a base for water-based activity in the rolling pre-Jura hills.
Larressingle
This tiny walled hamlet in the Gers department of southwestern France holds six nationally protected historic monuments within its medieval fortifications, i…
Vernantois
A small stone-and-tile village spread across a green valley in France's Jura, ringed by forested limestone hills, sitting within easy reach of wine country a…
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Tiny Provençal town on the Rhône across from Avignon, where a massive medieval fortress with round towers and crenellated walls rises above stone houses, cyp…
Mauriac
A tiny town in the Cantal department of south-central France, Mauriac grew from a 6th-century abbey whose buildings still stand, now repurposed as public off…
La Châtre
A small town in the Indre department of central France, La Châtre sits along the River Indre and holds a notable concentration of listed historic buildings,…
Seix
Small village in the Ariège department of southwestern France, Seix sits on the Salat river within the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées ariégeoises, with s…
Maîche
Compact Jura upland town of red-tile rooftops and a prominent church, Maîche sits within a regional nature park near the Swiss border, offering forested hill…
Varennes-en-Argonne
A compact French village in the Meuse department where a river runs along stone-walled banks, a bridge links the main street, and a church steeple rises abov…
Château-Thierry
Birthplace of the fabulist Jean de La Fontaine and site of both the First and Second Battles of the Marne, Château-Thierry is a town in the Aisne department…
Urrugne
This tiny Basque Country town on France's Atlantic coast, Urrugne pairs a handsome half-timbered town hall with flower-box balconies, a compact café scene, a…
Chabrillan
A small village in the Drôme département of southeastern France, Chabrillan sits on the water between the Vercors and Provence, with mountain scenery close by.
Quié
This small hamlet in the Ariège Pyrénées of southwestern France, sitting on the Vicdessos river within the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées ariégeoises.
Lagrasse
This compact village in the Corbières massif of southern France's Aude department, Lagrasse sits on the Orbieu river in wine and mountain country and holds m…
Privas
Privas is the birthplace of Clément Faugier, who in the late 19th century built the enterprise that made Ardèche chestnuts — and the marron glacé and crème d…
Argelès-Gazost
This tiny town in the Hautes-Pyrénées with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, Argelès-Gazost sits on the Gave de Pau river in the footh…
Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort
A compact town in the Gard department of southern France's Occitanie region, Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort sits on the Vidourle river in mountain terrain, with a s…
Loupian
This rural coastal village in the Hérault département of southern France, Loupian sits on the edge of the Étang de Thau lagoon, within three overlapping Natu…
Marchiennes-Campagne
A northern French town on the water's edge, where this striking circular brick building with classical stone detailing and French flags hints at a civic heri…
Jacob-Bellecombette
This tiny town in the Savoie department of southeastern France sits where the Chambéry valley meets the northern foothills of the Chartreuse massif, offering…
Pézenas
A small town in the Hérault department of southern France with one of the oldest protected historic districts in the country, Pézenas holds a dense café and…
Champlitte
This wine-country commune in Haute-Saône, eastern France, Champlitte sits within the Communauté de communes des 4 Rivières and holds the labels Cité de Carac…
Orgelet
This modest heritage town in the Jura department of eastern France, Orgelet holds a "Site patrimonial remarquable" designation and has carried the Cité de Ca…
Caudebronde
This tiny stone-built village in France's Montagne Noire, where an old arched bridge crosses a fast-running stream beside a medieval church tower, set agains…
Les Baux-de-Provence
Atop a rocky spur in the Alpilles mountains of southern France, Les Baux-de-Provence is a tiny medieval village built around a ruined castle overlooking the…
Nérac
A small town in Lot-et-Garonne, southwestern France, sitting on the water with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, and vineyards in the…
Lavaur
A compact town in the Tarn department of southern France's Occitanie region, Lavaur sits on the Agout river and has a central core with cafés and restaurants.
Aurillac
This compact French town in the volcanic Cantal highlands, Aurillac spreads red-tile rooftops around a tall Gothic church spire, with green rolling hills ris…
Roanne
Loire-side town in central France with a dense food-and-drink scene in its walkable centre and several historic churches, Roanne also holds the Musée des Bea…
Frontignan
Frontignan, a coastal town in the Hérault department of southern France, is the home of Muscat de Frontignan, an AOC sweet wine made solely from the Muscat g…
Cabrerets
A small hamlet in the Lot department of southwestern France, Cabrerets sits on the Célé river within the Causse de Gramat — the largest and most wild of the…
Fondremand
A modest stone hamlet in eastern France where a medieval tower rises above moss-covered weirs and cascading water channels, with surrounding hills and a regi…
Senones
Tiny village in the Vosges mountains of northeastern France, Senones was the capital of the Principality of Salm-Salm — a territory of the Holy Roman Empire…
Marsillargues
A small town in the Hérault department of southern France's Occitanie region, Marsillargues sits in wine country along the Vidourle river, with two Natura 20…
Saint-Véran
Claimed to be the highest permanent settlement in the French Alps, this pocket-sized hamlet in the Hautes-Alpes sits at high elevation within the Queyras Reg…
Quers
A tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône, Quers centers on a multi-turreted manor house with steep terracotta roofs and a stone-walled courtyard, set against the…
Monflanquin
Founded in 1256 as a military bastide town on a strategic north-south route, Monflanquin is a little village in Lot-et-Garonne, south-western France, that ch…
Bletterans
This small Jura village in eastern France's Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, with vineyards in the surrounding countryside, water nearby, and a handful of caf…
Eu
Small Normandy town where a grand French château with formal clipped gardens and slate mansard roofs anchors a compact riverside centre close to the Channel…
Finestret
This tiny hamlet in the Pyrénées-Orientales sits in the Conflent country of southern France, a Pyrenean valley region drained by the Lentillà and several oth…
Vervins
The Peace of Vervins, which ended the war between France and Spain, was signed in this modest Aisne town in 1598 — giving it an outsized place in European di…
Limeuil
At the confluence of the Dordogne and Vézère rivers in southwestern France's Dordogne department, this small medieval village was historically a hub of the r…
Mers-les-Bains
A small seaside resort on the Somme coast, Mers-les-Bains is known for its Belle Époque seafront villas — a listed quarter that earned the town second place…
Morteau
Morteau, a small town in the Doubs department of eastern France's Jura massif, is known nationally for its smoked sausage, the saucisse de Morteau, and has a…
Pietraserena
A tiny Corsican hamlet of weathered stone houses and a square church tower, where a quiet road winds through an upland village that feels genuinely rooted in…
San-Martino-di-Lota
A stone-built Corsican village spread across terraced hillsides above dense maquis, with a prominent church tower, sweeping mountain backdrops, and coastal p…
Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda
This pocket-sized Corsican hamlet of stone and terracotta-roofed houses spread across a densely wooded hillside, dominated by a substantial church and backed…
Ronchamp
Le Corbusier's Chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut, a UNESCO-listed landmark of 20th-century sacred architecture built in stone and concrete between 1953 and 1955,…
Vauvert
This small wine-country town in the far south of France's Gard department, Vauvert sits within the Camargue delta and is drained by several waterways, includ…
Cabourg
Marcel Proust's favoured retreat on the Normandy coast, Cabourg is a Belle Époque seaside town on the Côte Fleurie where the river Dives meets the English Ch…
Galéria
A small Corsican hamlet on the water, with mountain terrain close behind and a handful of cafés and restaurants that punch above its size.
Saint-Julien-du-Tournel
Tiny stone-built hamlet in the forested valley country of Lozère, with a Romanesque church tower at its centre, a pocket-sized river close by, and the upland…
Fenouillet
This compact rural hamlet in the Fenouillèdes, a long depression between the Corbières hills and the Pyrenean massifs in northern Pyrénées-Orientales, Fenoui…
Ray-sur-Saône
A turreted castle crowns a wooded hillside above this tiny Saône riverbank village, where pleasure boats moor beside a stone church with a distinctive tiled…
Rogliano
This modest Corsican village at the northern tip of Cap Corse sits close to the water and mountain terrain, with an unusual concentration of churches for its…
Baume-les-Dames
Small town on the Doubs river in eastern France's Franche-Comté, with vineyards in the surrounding countryside, scenic viewpoints nearby, and a central core…
Luri
This compact Corsican village on the Cap Corse peninsula holds an unusual number of churches for its size, with the mountains close behind and the sea at its…
Tulle
Tulle, the prefecture of Corrèze in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, is a town on seven hills known for three distinct craft traditions: lace-making (celebrated with an i…
Gerberoy
This compact commune in the Oise department of northern France holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, the association recognising the country…
Venzolasca
A hilltop Corsican village of grey-stone houses crowned by a tall church tower, with open sea views stretching to a distant island silhouette and nearby vine…
Bergerac
Sitting on the banks of the Dordogne river in southwestern France, Bergerac is a Town of Art and History with vineyards in the immediate surroundings and a w…
Mortagne-au-Perche
Small Normandy town classified as a Petites Cités de Caractère, Mortagne-au-Perche rewards visitors with a grand stone manor set in colorful public gardens,…
Oloron-Sainte-Marie
This modest town in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques with a notably dense café and restaurant scene, several historic churches, and a position right on the water wit…
Domrémy-la-Pucelle
Domrémy-la-Pucelle, a small hamlet in the Vosges department of northeastern France, is the birthplace of Joan of Arc — a fact so central to its identity that…
Gavaudun
This tiny stone hamlet in Lot-et-Garonne where a ruined medieval tower rises dramatically from a rocky outcrop above red-tile rooftops, dense woodland, and a…
Gap
France's highest prefecture sits in a mountain valley in the southern Alps, with a walkable centre that supports a dense food-and-drink scene and access to s…
Ecouen
The Château d'Écouen, built between 1538 and 1555 for the constable Anne de Montmorency, houses the Musée national de la Renaissance — the largest Renaissanc…
Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille
This compact Auvergne village of stone and red-tile houses spread across rolling green upland country, Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille sits beside a river with vol…
Bélesta
Little wine-country hamlet in the Fenouillèdes — a valley corridor between the Corbières hills and the Pyrenean massifs in southern France's Pyrénées-Orienta…
Balazuc
A small village on the Ardèche river in southern France, Balazuc sits in wine country with scenic viewpoints across the surrounding landscape.
Montluçon
Walkable town on the river Cher in central France's Allier department, Montluçon has a centre with a good spread of cafés and restaurants.
Paray-le-Monial
This pocket-sized Burgundian town on the water, Paray-le-Monial draws visitors with its ornate Renaissance town hall on an open square, an unusual density of…
Bagnols-sur-Cèze
Wine-country town in the Gard department of southern France, set on the Cèze river with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants.
Castelnou
A compact village in the Aspres region of Pyrénées-Orientales, Castelnou sits among vineyards and Mediterranean terrain between the Têt and Tech river valleys.
Carennac
Small Dordogne-side hamlet in the Lot department of southwestern France, Carennac holds a medieval priory — an 11th-century church and cloister — alongside a…
Sant'Antonino
This small Corsican hill village in the Balagne region is considered the oldest, highest, and most scenic settlement in that area, and holds membership in Le…
Le Grau-du-Roi
The only commune in the Gard department with a Mediterranean coastline, Le Grau-du-Roi is a small southern French town with a real café and restaurant scene,…
Caunes-Minervois
Red marble quarried here since Roman times has surfaced in some of France's grandest buildings, and the village's eighth-century abbey anchors a well-preserv…
Pont-Saint-Esprit
A small town on the Rhône in southern France's Gard département, Pont-Saint-Esprit sits at a historic river crossing where the Ardèche meets the Rhône just t…
Corbère
A rural village in the Aspres region of Pyrénées-Orientales, southern France, set between the Têt and Tech river valleys in Mediterranean mountain terrain, w…
Mont-Louis
A tiny fortified village in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Mont-Louis has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008 as one of twelve Vauban fortifications recog…
Giocatojo
This small stone-built Corsican hamlet in the upland Castagniccia region, where grey-slate rooftops, bare chestnut trees, and a prominent church tower give t…
Le Vigan
Modest town in the Cévennes region of southern France's Gard department, Le Vigan sits on the River Arre and carries a café and restaurant scene that punches…
Orsonnette
A pocket-sized French hamlet in the Auvergne uplands, set among patchwork farmland with rolling volcanic hills behind and a hilltop village visible in the mi…
Capdenac
Admitted to the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association in 2010, Capdenac is a small village in the Lot department of south-western France, set above t…
Sommières
Little town in the Gard department of southern France where the Vidourle river runs through the centre, Sommières sits in deep wine country between Nîmes and…
Gourdon
A compact subprefecture in the Lot department of southwestern France, Gourdon sits at the heart of the Bouriane — a forested, hilly natural region of the Que…
Esquelbecq
Voted France's favourite village in 2023 on the France 3 television programme *Le Village préféré des Français*, Esquelbecq is a compact commune in the Nord…
Castellane
A compact, photogenic subprefecture in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Castellane sits on the water with mountain scenery close at hand and carries the French g…
Asquins
This small Burgundy hamlet on the Yonne is the starting point of one of the four main French pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, and its church of S…
Bédarieux
This tiny town in southern France's Hérault department where the Orb river runs through the centre, Bédarieux sits within the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature…
Samoëns
Alpine village in the Vallée du Giffre near the Swiss border, Samoëns holds a "ville fleurie" designation for the quality of its gardens and public greenery,…
Brégnier-Cordon
This compact stone-church village in France's Ain department, its red-tile rooftops spreading across upland country above wooded river plains, with vineyards…
Montolieu
Known as a Village du Livre — a book village — Montolieu is a little commune in the Aude department of southern France, set on the southern edge of the Massi…
Termes
A little hamlet in the Corbières massif of southern France's Aude department, Termes sits among limestone hills that form the transition between the Massif C…
Louviers
This walkable Norman town on the water, Louviers sits in the Eure department of Normandy with a centre well supplied with cafés and restaurants.
Trévoux
A small town on the steeply sloping left bank of the Saône river in eastern France's Ain department, Trévoux is known for its fort and draws day-trippers fro…
Mauguio
This Mediterranean-climate town in the Hérault with a compact centre of cafés and restaurants, Mauguio sits in the heart of Languedoc wine country and extend…
Castelnau-Pégayrols
This small hamlet in Aveyron, southern France, Castelnau-Pégayrols is known for a medieval irrigation network recognised in 1996 as of global importance — an…
Lure
A small town in eastern France's Haute-Saône, Lure grew around a monastery founded in 610 by the Irish monk Saint Columbanus, and the Abbey of Lure shaped th…
Largentière
Silver mining shaped this pocket-sized Ardèche village for centuries — its name, adopted in the 13th century, refers directly to the silver-bearing ore extra…
Occhiatana
A compact stone-built Corsican hamlet in the Balagne hills, its orange-roofed houses and tall church tower rising above flowering olive trees, with upland wa…
Beuvron-en-Auge
A hamlet in Normandy's Calvados department that holds the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France designation, Beuvron-en-Auge punches above its size with a little…
Issigeac
A pocket-sized medieval village in the Bergerac wine-growing region of the Dordogne, Issigeac is built on a circular plan with largely original half-timbered…
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
A medieval hamlet on the Chemin de Saint-Jacques pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert sits where the narrow valley of the Gell…
Villefranche-sur-Saône
The main town of the Beaujolais wine region, Villefranche-sur-Saône sits on the Saône in the Rhône department of eastern France, a short distance north of Lyon.
Graulhet
A former leather-tanning centre in the Tarn department of southern France, Graulhet sits along the river Dadou and retains some historical buildings from its…
Mont-de-Marsan
Founded in the Middle Ages at the confluence of three rivers on the Vézelay route of the Camino de Santiago, Mont-de-Marsan is the prefecture of the Landes d…
Anduze
A small town at the foot of the Cévennes in southern France's Gard department, Anduze sits on the River Gard with a café and restaurant scene that punches ab…
Frasne-le-Château
A small Haute-Saône hamlet in eastern France where a substantial sandstone château with a conical tower rises above a moat and autumn-coloured grounds, set a…
Pont-de-Labeaume
A little stone village in the forested hills of Ardèche, where a Romanesque church tower rises above dense tree canopy, the river runs close by, and upland w…
Arc-et-Senans
The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, designed by French architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, is the reason to visit…
Thiviers
A compact stone-built town in the Dordogne, with a tall church tower rising above terracotta rooftops, serving as a gateway to the Périgord-Limousin regional…
Thouars
This modest town on the River Thouet in western France's Deux-Sèvres, Thouars sits in wine-growing country and holds an official "town of art and history" de…
Malbuisson
A small village on the shore of Lac de Saint-Point in the Doubs department of eastern France, Malbuisson sits between the water and forest at around 900 metr…
Comines-Warneton - Komen-Waasten
A Wallonian town on the Lys river, Comines-Warneton sits as a geographic curiosity: a French-speaking exclave of Belgium entirely surrounded by Flemish West…
Plougonven
This modest Breton commune in Finistère received the "Communes du Patrimoine Rural de Bretagne" label in 1991, recognising the quality of its architectural a…
Crépy-en-Valois
A walkable town in the Oise department of northern France, Crépy-en-Valois sits at the heart of the Automne valley and served as the historic capital of the…
Olmiccia
Stone-and-render houses with terracotta roofs spread across a densely wooded hillside in this tiny Corsican hamlet, with church towers visible above the tree…
Chennevieres-les-Louvres
This tiny French hamlet in the Île-de-France countryside, where a stone-built village church with a slate spire rises above tree-lined streets, sitting just…
Riom
This heritage-dense town in Auvergne's Puy-de-Dôme, Riom served as capital of the Terre d'Auvergne from 1210 and carries that history in a compact centre thi…
Risoul
This ski village in the French Alps between Briançon and Gap, Risoul pairs with neighbouring Vars to form the Forêt Blanche resort, offering a large network…
Ersa
This small Corsican hamlet at the northern tip of Cap Corse, Ersa sits close to the water with mountain terrain nearby and an unusually high number of church…
Marville
A compact stone village in France's Meuse department, where a medieval church with a rose window anchors tightly grouped old houses against a backdrop of ope…
Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei
A tiny hamlet on the river Sarthe in Normandy's Orne department, Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and the Petites…
Barfleur
Modest fishing village on the Normandy coast in Manche, Barfleur holds membership in the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association and was one of the bus…
Quinson
This tiny Provençal village in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence where a converted stone chapel houses the tourist office, wooded hills rise behind compact streets, an…
Gex
This tiny French town close to the Swiss border and Geneva, Gex centres on a handsome terracotta-and-stone hôtel de ville with a clock tower, green shutters,…
Saissac
Tiny village in the Aude department of southern France, Saissac sits within the Montagne Noire — the southern edge of the Massif Central — with views toward…
Condom
A pocket-sized Armagnac-country town in the Gers department of southwestern France, Condom-en-Armagnac sits on the River Baïse with a central core of cafés a…
Millau
This town at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers in Aveyron, Millau is best known for its Viaduct and a walkable centre with a dense food-and-drink…
Sauveterre-de-Bearn
Medieval village above the Gave d'Oloron river in south-western France, Sauveterre-de-Béarn faces the Pyrenees and preserves a substantial cluster of medieva…
Najac
A medieval ridge village in southern France's Aveyron, Najac is dominated by a partly ruined château built in 1253 on the orders of Alphonse de Poitiers, wit…
Moissac
At the confluence of the Garonne and Tarn rivers and the Canal de Garonne in southern France's Occitanie region, Moissac is a pocket-sized town in Tarn-et-Ga…
Serverette
This small rural hamlet in northern Lozère, southern France, set among mountain terrain and drained by the Truyère and Mézère rivers.
Aigues-Mortes
Enclosed within well-preserved medieval walls, this pocket-sized town in the Camargue region of southern France sits at the junction of two waterways and dra…
Soorts-Hossegor
This small Atlantic resort town in the Landes department of southwestern France, Hossegor is built around surfing: its beach break, including the wave known…
Tremolat
This pocket-sized Dordogne village where elevated viewpoints look down over a wide river bend, stone arched bridge, patchwork farmland, and vineyard slopes r…
Buthiers
Tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône's rolling hill country, anchored by a striking stone château with twin towers and ornate classical façade, set against fore…
Saint-Sever
Known since at least the late Middle Ages as "Cap de Gascogne" — the head of Gascony — Saint-Sever is a small historic town in the Landes department of south…
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer is a sub-prefecture town in Pas-de-Calais where the canalised river Aa begins its course toward the North Sea, giving the centre a waterside chara…
Wambrechies
This small French town on the water near Lille, Wambrechies draws the eye with its ornate brick town hall — a stepped-gable, diamond-patterned tower rising a…
Laguiole
Compact Aveyron village of tightly packed grey stone-slate rooftops and chimney pots, Laguiole sits in upland country with several listed historic monuments…
Viarmes
This snow-dusted town square in the Île-de-France region frames a Gothic church tower and a grand colonnaded building side by side, offering a compact slice…
Hennebont
A compact Breton town on the Blavet river, Hennebont rewards visitors with medieval ramparts visible from the waterfront, a Gothic church spire rising above…
Saint-Girons
This compact town on the Salat river in southwestern France's Ariège department, Saint-Girons sits within the Pyrenées ariégeoises regional nature park and s…
Syam
The Château de Syam, a French Empire villa designed by Champennois l'Aîné in 1818, is the main draw of this small hamlet in the Jura department of eastern Fr…
Guingamp
This tiny Breton town in the Côtes-d'Armor with a café and restaurant scene that is unusually rich for its size, Guingamp also holds a concentration of histo…
Martel
Known since the 17th century as "the town of seven towers," Martel is a medieval village in the Lot department of southwestern France, founded in the 11th ce…
Enveitg
A compact village on the high plateau of the Cerdagne in the French Pyrénées-Orientales, Enveitg sits within the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées catalanes…
Lauzerte
A 12th-century bastide village in the Quercy Blanc region of southern France, Lauzerte sits on a hilltop above vine-covered valleys and holds a place on the…
Aubenas
This small town in the southern Ardèche with a café and restaurant scene that is well stocked for its size, Aubenas sits on the river Ardèche at a crossroads…
La Roque-sur-Cèze
A modest hamlet on the Cèze river in southern France's Gard department, La Roque-sur-Cèze holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and sits with…
Creil
A town in the Oise valley of northern France, Creil sits along the River Oise with a walkable centre offering cafés and restaurants.
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
Antique shops and Sunday markets define this Provençal town on the Sorgue river in Vaucluse, where working water wheels line the waterways and waterside café…
Faucogney-et-la-Mer
Tiny village on the southern edge of the Vosges massif in Haute-Saône, Faucogney-et-la-Mer sits at the water with mountain views and scenic surrounds.
Cavaillon
Known across France as the capital of the melon, Cavaillon is a Provençal town in the Durance Valley at the western edge of the Luberon mountains.
Dax
France's leading spa town for mud-based rheumatism treatments, Dax sits on the Adour river in the Landes department of southwestern France, with thermal esta…
Quintin
Small Breton town in Côtes-d'Armor where a grand stone château and church spire rise above old ramparts and a calm waterway, with hilly surrounds and enough…
Fleurance
A small town in the Gers department of southwestern France, Fleurance sits on the River Gers amid the cereal fields and vineyards of Gascony's Gaure country,…
Lisle-sur-Tarn
This pocket-sized town on the River Tarn in southern France's Occitanie region, sitting within the Gaillacois wine country, an area long known for the qualit…
Mayenne
A compact town in northwestern France where cafés and restaurants line the banks of the River Mayenne, this subprefecture sits at the meeting point of the Pa…
Boulot
A tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône where a stately limestone manor house rises from open parkland, set among rolling hills near the water and within reach o…
Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
This little village on the Dronne river in Charente is best known for the Church of Saint Jean, a monolithic church carved entirely underground.
Besse
A modest village in Puy-de-Dôme set within the Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne, Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise sits close to the water and the mountai…
Bugarach
A pocket-sized hamlet in the Aude department of southern France, Bugarach sits on the Blanque river at the foot of the Pech de Bugarach, the high point of th…
Saint-Avold
A Lorraine town in Moselle where sandstone baroque church towers rise dramatically above a compact square lined with traditional French townhouses, sitting w…
Pontarlier
Pontarlier became France's absinthe capital in 1805 when Henri-Louis Pernod established his distillery here, and the town still produces traditional absinthe…
Serviès-en-Val
Compact hamlet in the Corbières massif of southern France's Aude department, set in wine country on the limestone terrain that bridges the Massif Central and…
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
The spring at Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is the largest resurgent spring in France and ranks among the most significant in the world by annual flow, feeding the Ri…
Gargilesse-Dampierre
George Sand made her home in this little village on the Creuse river in Indre, central France, and her house is now a listed historic monument.
Vassel
This compact French village in the Puy-de-Dôme, its central square anchored by a stone fountain, a clock-towered mairie, and a solid Romanesque-style church,…
Larnod
This small French village in the Doubs valley, seen from a wooded hillside viewpoint, with red-tile houses spread across a river plain and forested uplands r…
San-Lorenzo
A tiny stone-and-whitewash hamlet in Corsica's forested uplands, San-Lorenzo sits amid scrub-covered hillsides with a church tower rising above the valley an…
Arbois
Arbois holds a double distinction in French wine history: it became France's first AOC-designated wine region in 1936 and is still known as the capital of Ju…
Pomoy
A small French hamlet in Haute-Saône's rolling countryside, where a stone church tower with a distinctive domed cap rises above red-tile rooftops and tree-li…
Licques
A compact village in the Pas-de-Calais south of Calais, Licques is known across the region for its turkey and poultry production.
Saint-Mery
This tiny Île-de-France hamlet where a handsome limestone building with white shutters and flower-filled windowboxes typifies the quiet, well-kept village ch…
Mouthe
France's coldest recorded place, Mouthe is a tiny Jura mountain village in the Doubs department where Météo-France officially logged −36.7°C on 13 January 1968.
Rambervillers
A little French town in the Vosges hills, Rambervillers centres on a striking Gothic sandstone church with a tall slate spire and rose window, set on a cobbl…
Fumel
A small town on the right bank of the Lot river in south-western France's Lot-et-Garonne department, Fumel sits at the centre of a cluster of communes in a r…
Saint-Medard-d'Excideuil
A compact stone-church village in Dordogne's rolling green hills, where cream-rendered houses gather around a Romanesque tower beside the water, making it a…
Faverges
This compact town in Haute-Savoie sitting at the upper end of the glacial valley that gives rise to Lake Annecy, with mountain scenery on all sides and the B…
Le Perthus
Mountain border village in the Pyrénées-Orientales where France meets the Iberian Peninsula, Le Perthus sits in the Pyrenees along the historic Roussillon re…
Mélisey
This tiny village in eastern France's Haute-Saône, Mélisey sits on the River Ognon at the edge of the Mille Étangs plateau, a landscape of a thousand ponds t…
Saint-Jean-du-Gard
This small village in the Cévennes mountains of southern France's Gard department, Saint-Jean-du-Gard sits on a river with scenic mountain surrounds and two…
Saint-Chély-d'Apcher
Compact stone-built town in the upland Margeride country of Lozère, Saint-Chély-d'Apcher offers slate-roofed streets, a modest central square, and easy acces…
Arlempdes
This little hamlet in Haute-Loire, south-central France, sits directly on the water with scenic views in the surrounding landscape, and holds membership in L…
Prades
Founded in the 9th century as a fortified settlement, Prades is a small Catalan-French town in the Pyrénées-Orientales with a café and restaurant scene that…
Vinca
Compact village in southern France's Catalan Pyrenees, Vinca sits beside a broad river lake with snow-capped peaks rising dramatically behind, surrounded by…
Vaucouleurs
A tiny village on the river Meuse in northeastern France's Meuse département, Vaucouleurs is known as a Johannic town — one of the places closely associated…
Billieme
A pocket-sized Savoyard hamlet set among vineyard rows in a broad green valley, with a forested mountain rising sharply behind and the wider Auvergne-Rhône-A…
Épinal
Town on the Moselle river in northeastern France's Vosges département, Épinal has been known since 1796 for its popular printed imagery, a tradition launched…
Moirans-en-Montagne
Regarded as the wooden-toy capital of France, this Jura village is home to manufacturers Smoby and Vilac, a dedicated Toy Museum, and a vocational school spe…
Lons-le-Saunier
The capital of the Jura département in eastern France, Lons-le-Saunier takes its name from the salt springs first exploited by the Romans, which drove the to…
Floure
A small wine-country hamlet in the Aude, set along the River Aude on the edge of the Corbières massif — the limestone uplands that bridge the Massif Central…
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
This pocket-sized seaport and resort on the south bank of the Somme estuary, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme has medieval ramparts, a Gothic church, and a long waters…
Sarreguemines
Sarreguemines, a town in the Moselle department of northeastern France's Grand Est region, has a long tradition of faience pottery-making and a walkable cent…
Tonnerre
A compact Burgundy town on the water's edge, Tonnerre pairs a handsome neoclassical Hôtel de Ville — visible on its cobbled central square — with surrounding…
Orthez
This medieval stone bridge with a fortified tower spans a green river at the heart of this pocket-sized Pyrénées-Atlantiques town, where a compact café scene…
Phalsbourg
A compact Alsace-Lorraine town on the western Vosges slopes, Phalsbourg centers on a broad stone-paved square flanked by solid 18th-century buildings, a cloc…
Montclus
This small hamlet in the Gard department of southern France, Montclus sits along the Cèze river and holds membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.
Hesdin
A small town on the River Canche in Pas-de-Calais, Hesdin sits at the heart of the Sept Vallées area — a stretch of river valleys in northern France — with s…
Samatan
A small Gascon village in the Gers department of southwestern France, Samatan sits along the River Save with a café and restaurant scene that is unusually ri…
Giromagny
A tiny French town in the southern Vosges foothills, Giromagny centers on a handsome salmon-pink town hall facing a quiet crossroads, with upland hill countr…
Charolles
Charolles gave its name to the Charolais breed of cattle and is also known for its faïence pottery — a small Burgundian town in Saône-et-Loire where two rive…
Moissey
Stone fountain and clock-towered church anchor the village square of this compact Jura commune, where traditional French rural architecture and proximity to…
Île-aux-Moines
A sandy bay lined with blue-and-white beach huts, windsurfers on calm water, and a grand white villa behind stone walls — this Breton island village in the G…
Sus
This tiny Basque-country hamlet in southwestern France's Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Sus centres on a cream-rendered mairie with blue shutters and a stone war memo…
Clairegoutte
This small hamlet in the rolling Vosges saônoises hills of Haute-Saône sits at the source of the river that shares its name, with forested highland terrain r…
Puycelsi
A member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association, Puycelsi is a modest village in the Tarn department of southern France, set in the Gaillacois…
Chariez
This compact stone-built village in eastern France's Haute-Saône, where red-tile rooftops cluster around a domed church tower above open pastoral valleys, wi…
Mirande
A 13th-century bastide town in the Gers department of southwestern France, Mirande sits along the Baïse river in the hilly Astarac country of Occitania.
Pignan
A pocket-sized town in the Hérault department of southern France's Occitanie region, Pignan sits in Mediterranean wine country with a central core of cafés a…
Epinay-sous-Senart
This small residential town on the southern edge of Paris, Épinay-sous-Sénart sits alongside the Yerres river and borders the Forest of Sénart, with a café a…
Lectoure
This small town in the Gers department of southwestern France, Lectoure sits above the River Gers in a region historically nicknamed the "French Tuscany," wi…
Le Barcarès
A tiny Mediterranean coastal town in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Le Barcarès sits on the shore of the Salses-Leucate lagoon complex — a protected natural area t…
Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie
Pottery has shaped this small village in southern France's Gard department for centuries, and today more than twenty ceramic workshops and sculptors line its…
Egreville
This tiny medieval village in Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, with a Gothic church, a château, and a covered market hall that hosts an annual December poultry…
Montbrison
Montbrison lends its name to Fourme de Montbrison, a blue cheese made in the Forez region of central France for centuries and granted appellation d'origine c…
Estarvielle
This modest hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées sits alongside the Neste du Louron river in the Pays d'Aure, a mountain valley region of south-western France.
Morsiglia
This compact Corsican hamlet on the Cap Corse peninsula sits at the water's edge with vineyards close by and an unusual number of churches for a settlement o…
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges
A tiny Pyrenean village in Haute-Garonne that punches well above its size in historic architecture: the Cathedral of Notre-Dame has been a protected monument…
Étaples
Fishing and leisure port on the Canche river in northern France's Pas-de-Calais, Étaples has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size and sits…
Bouhans-lès-Lure
Tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône where a tall stone church spire rises above red-roofed houses and open pastures, offering a quiet rural stop within reach o…
Lunel
This wine-country town in the Hérault department of southern France, Lunel sits along the Vidourle river between Montpellier and Nîmes, with rail connections…
La Chaise-Dieu
This pocket-sized village in Haute-Loire is anchored by a Gothic abbey rebuilt between 1344 and 1350 at the request of Pope Clement VI, a former monk there.
Ile-d'Aix
This small Atlantic island commune off the Charente-Maritime coast draws summer day-trippers to a heritage-dense streetscape, with listed buildings concentra…
Aubazat
A tiny Auvergne hamlet in the forested uplands of Haute-Loire, where a weathered stone church with a dark-spired bell tower and a war memorial stand as the q…
Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue
Two Vauban watchtowers — on the islets of Tatihou and La Hougue — earned this pocket-sized Normandy fishing village a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list…
Mortemart
Tiny Haute-Vienne hamlet of old cut-stone manor buildings with round towers and terracotta rooftiles, recognised among France's most beautiful villages and s…
Trégastel
Tiny seaside resort on Brittany's Pink Granite Coast, Trégastel sits right on the water between Perros-Guirec and Pleumeur-Bodou, with scenic viewpoints alon…
Villerouge-Termenès
This small hamlet in the Corbières massif of southern France's Aude department, Villerouge-Termenès sits in limestone hill country between the Massif Central…
Auvillar
A member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France since 1994, this compact village on the Garonne in Tarn-et-Garonne is also a stop on the Santiago de Compostela…
Montner
This modest hamlet in the Fenouillèdes — a long depression between the Corbières and the Pyrenean massifs in southern France's Pyrénées-Orientales — where al…
Baccarat
Compact French town in the Lorraine hills, Baccarat lines both banks of a river running through its red-tile centre, with rolling wooded countryside spreadin…
Bassigney
A tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône's rolling hill country, centered on a stone church with a striking geometric polychrome-tiled tower that stands out vivid…
Fanjeaux
Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order, made this small medieval village in the Aude his base between 1206 and 1215, preaching to the Cathars of the s…
Saint-Roman-de-Codières
This tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains of southern France's Gard department sits alongside the Vidourle river and is drained by several other watercourse…
Nahuja
A small hamlet in the Cerdanya, a high plateau in the French Pyrénées-Orientales close to the Spanish border, Nahuja sits within the Parc Naturel Régional de…
Baume-les-Messieurs
This small hamlet in eastern France's Jura department, Baume-les-Messieurs sits at the heart of the Reculée de Baume — the most extensive of the Jura escarpm…
Fitou
Fitou, a small village on the Mediterranean coast of southern France's Aude department, lends its name to one of the region's oldest AOC red wines, produced…
Bernay
This pocket-sized Norman town in the Eure department designated a Ville d'Art et d'Histoire in 2012, Bernay has a real café and restaurant scene for its size…
Serdinya
A tiny hamlet in the Conflent country of Pyrénées-Orientales, southern France, set along the Têt river amid Pyrenean valleys and surrounding vineyards.
Renaucourt
This tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône's rolling countryside, where a stone church rises above open meadows backed by dense woodland, offering a quietly rura…
Castelsarrasin
This compact town in Tarn-et-Garonne, Occitanie, has a town centre bordered on both sides by the Garonne River and the Garonne Lateral Canal — part of the Ca…
Gorze
This tiny village in Moselle, north-eastern France, Gorze is home to a 1st-century Roman aqueduct that once supplied water to Metz, and an 8th-century Benedi…
Ille-sur-Têt
A compact Roussillon town on the Têt river, with vineyard surrounds, a flower-decked mairie facing a compact central square, and easy access to upland Pyrene…
Bedous
Bedous is a tiny Pyrénées-Atlantiques village in mountain country and the birthplace of Pierre Laclède, the Frenchman who founded St.
Prades
This little hamlet in the Ariège mountains of southwestern France sits alongside the Hers-Vif river and falls within the Sabarthès country, shaped by the upp…
Annonay
A dense hillside town of stone and red-tile rooftops rising above wooded slopes, Annonay is the Ardèche's largest commune, offering a lively urban base close…
Saint-André-de-Valborgne
A small hamlet in the Cévennes hills of southern France's Gard department, Saint-André-de-Valborgne sits alongside the Gardon de Saint-Jean river and is surr…
Vallecalle
Stone houses with terracotta roofs cluster across a hillside ridge in Corsica's Haute-Corse interior, with layered mountain ranges receding into the haze beh…
Clamecy
Birthplace of the Nobel Prize-winning author Romain Rolland, Clamecy is a small town in Burgundy's Nièvre department where the Yonne and Beuvron rivers meet…
Bidarray
A small village in the French Basque Country where the Nive river draws visitors for rafting and hiking in the surrounding Pyrenean terrain.
Granges-le-Bourg
A small stone-built French hamlet in rolling Haute-Saône countryside, where red-tile rooftops climb a hillside crowned by medieval ruins, set against open gr…
Guchan
A little hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Guchan sits alongside the Neste river within the Pyrénées National Park, with Natura 2000 protected land covering par…
Frontenay
A tiny Jura hamlet where a moss-draped grotto, a weathered Romanesque church, and a turreted manor house in honey-gold stone sit close to the water, surround…
Beuvry
This small town in northern France's Pas-de-Calais, Beuvry is traversed by the Canal d'Aire à la Bassée and borders the city of Béthune.
Paraza
A pocket-sized hamlet in the Minervois wine country of southern France's Aude department, sitting alongside the Canal du Midi and the Aude river.
Danjoutin
Compact northeastern French town in the Territoire de Belfort, where red-tile rooftops spread across a gentle valley backed by forested hills, with a lively…
Remoulins
Sitting on the River Gardon in southern France's Gard department, Remoulins is the closest village to the Pont du Gard, the Roman aqueduct that draws visitor…
Les Hôpitaux-Neufs
This pocket-sized French village in the forested uplands of Doubs, where red-tile houses and a white church steeple sit in a green valley bowl, backed by con…
Étrun
Tiny French hamlet just outside Arras, Étrun offers a weathered stone church with a slate spire set among mature trees, with the river Gy flowing through its…
Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval
At the end of the Giffre Valley in Haute-Savoie, Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval is a mountain village recognized among France's most beautiful, built around a priory and…
Sospel
A small mountain town in the Alpes-Maritimes of southeastern France, Sospel sits beside a river with a café-filled centre and easy access to the surrounding…
Baraigne
This tiny stone-and-terracotta hamlet in the Aude's Lauragais countryside, Baraigne sits amid patchwork grain fields with a Romanesque church at its compact…
Aups
A pocket-sized Provençal village in the Var department that calls itself the truffle capital of the Haut-Var, Aups sits in mountain terrain surrounded by vin…
Bourganeuf
This small town in the Creuse department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bourganeuf owes its medieval origins to the Knights Hospitaller, who made it the seat of thei…
Valognes
From the Middle Ages through the 18th century, Valognes served as the administrative capital of the Cotentin peninsula, and the concentration of aristocratic…
Bessancourt
A pocket-sized Île-de-France town with a stately 19th-century mairie on its central square, vineyard surroundings, a walkable café and restaurant scene, and…
Ussel
This tiny French town in the Corrèze hills, Ussel centres on a substantial grey-stone manor with a round tower and slate roofs, surrounded by wooded upland c…
Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val
Medieval village on the Aveyron river in southern France's Tarn-et-Garonne, Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val has preserved much of its historic core — with many liste…
Belley
A small French town in the Ain department with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, Belley serves as the historical capital of the Bugey…
Gimont
A small rural town in the Gers department of southwestern France, Gimont sits on the Gimone river in wine-growing country within easy reach of Toulouse.
Prévenchères
This pocket-sized Lozère hamlet in the Cévennes sits along several waterways, including the Chassezac and Altier rivers, and falls within the Ardèche Mountai…
Remoiville
This tiny Lorraine hamlet in the Meuse, where a substantial golden-stone church with a slate spire and ornate red doorway stands as the focal point of a quie…
Sarrant
A small hamlet in the Gers department of southwestern France, Sarrant sits in the Lomagne — a historic part of Gascony sometimes called the "French Tuscany"…
Minerve
Minerve, a tiny hamlet in the Hérault that gives its name to the Minervois wine region, draws well over 300,000 visitors a year to its dramatic gorges, natur…
Beaucaire
This heritage-dense small town on the Rhône in southern France's Gard department, Beaucaire has a walkable centre with many listed buildings, a good spread o…
Anet
Château d'Anet, built by architect Philibert de l'Orme between 1547 and 1552 for Diane de Poitiers under Henri II, is the main draw of this small village in…
Lissac-sur-Couze
This pocket-sized French village in Corrèze where a substantial stone manor and an ornate church stand side by side above green hillside meadows, set along t…
Pissotte
This tiny French village in the Vendée, where a stone church with a red door anchors a compact village square surrounded by wine-growing countryside and a ha…
Chanteuges
A tiny stone church crowns a dramatic rocky outcrop above a forested river valley in this tiny Haute-Loire hamlet, where harvested fields, dense woodland, an…
Bessoncourt
A tiny village in France's Territoire de Belfort, Bessoncourt centres on a red sandstone church with a clock tower, flower-lined streets, and easy access to…
Saint-Gilles
One of Christendom's most important pilgrimage sites in the 12th century, Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a modest town in the Gard department of southern France who…
Nanc-lès-Saint-Amour
Pocket-sized stone-church village spread across forested upland country in the Jura, with red-tile rooftops visible from elevated viewpoints and deep wine co…
Sauve
A small village in the Gard department of southern France, set on the Vidourle river amid Mediterranean vineyards, with a café and restaurant scene that punc…
Château-Chinon (Ville)
Considered the capital of the Morvan region, this pocket-sized Burgundian town in the Nièvre department is best known as the place where François Mitterrand…
Aillevans
A tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône's rolling countryside, its stone church crowned with a distinctive diamond-patterned polychrome tile dome rising above te…
Bazoches-sur-Guyonne
A little Île-de-France village along the Guyonne river, where a ivy-draped stone mairie flying the tricolore sits on a green lawn, within easy reach of the g…
Uchaud
A compact town in the southern Gard, within the Nîmes agglomeration, set in Mediterranean wine-growing country with vineyards in the surrounding area.
Embrun
This little French Alpine town set against broad mountain slopes, Embrun sits beside the water with a lively road-entry scene, flower-decorated streets, and…
Millemont
A tiny French hamlet in the Île-de-France region, Millemont offers a glimpse of rural village life complete with a handsome stone mairie, a short drive from…
Échevannes
This tiny French hamlet in the Doubs hills, where red-roofed stone houses spread across an open ridge above a deep, forested valley, with rolling countryside…
Coulevon
This little French hamlet in Haute-Saône's rolling green countryside, with red-tile stone houses spread across wooded farmland, sitting close to water and wi…
Venette
This small village on the Oise river sits within the Compiègne urban area in northern France, with a café and restaurant scene and a number of churches that…
Belvès
This member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Belvès is a compact village in the Dordogne department of southwestern France, with a café and restaurant s…
Collias
This compact village in the Gard department of southern France, Collias sits on the River Gard within the Gorges du Gardon, with mountain views and a Mediter…
Tavey
A tiny French hamlet in Haute-Saône's rolling hill country, Tavey offers a well-preserved mairie with clock tower and red-tile roof, sitting close to water w…
Saint-Martin-de-Londres
A compact wine-country village in the Hérault, northeast of Montpellier, with a café and restaurant scene that is well stocked for its size.
Liouc
Tiny stone-house hamlet in southern France's Gard, set among wooded hills and vineyard-covered plains, with a low ridge of mountains on the horizon and the V…
Douvaine
A tiny French town in the Haute-Savoie's Chablais area, Douvaine features a striking red-and-yellow mairie dusted with winter snow, sitting close to the wate…
Blesle
This stone village in the forested hills of Haute-Loire, Blesle clusters around a medieval church tower above a modest river valley, and holds official recog…
Montluel
A tiny French town on Lyon's eastern fringe, Montluel spreads across low terrain toward a broad plain, with Alps visible on the horizon and a compact central…
Valay
A pocket-sized French village in Haute-Saône's rolling countryside, Valay centres on a handsome stone mairie fronting a flower-filled square, with waterside…
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, a town in the Vosges department of northeastern France, holds a remarkable place in cartographic history: it was here, in 1507, that th…
Malras
Little hamlet in the Aude department of southern France's Occitania region, set in wine country and drained by the Blau river.
L'Isle-Jourdain
Tiny town in the Gers department of southwestern France, L'Isle-Jourdain sits on the River Save and carries a café and restaurant scene that holds a surprisi…
Donzere
A small town on the left bank of the Rhône in southeastern France's Drôme department, Donzère sits among vineyards with mountain views and scenic viewpoints…
Amancy
A compact Haute-Savoie village with a stone-towered church anchoring its sunny central square, sitting close to upland country and within easy reach of the w…
Lupiac
Birthplace of Charles de Batz-Castelmore — the real-life musketeer behind Alexandre Dumas's d'Artagnan — this small hamlet in the Gers department of southwes…
Brive-la-Gaillarde
This walkable town in the Corrèze department of southwestern France with a dense food-and-drink scene at its centre, Brive-la-Gaillarde sits on the water wit…
Saint-Chamond
A former industrial town in the Loire department of central France, Saint-Chamond built its 19th-century prosperity on lace-making and steelworks, and is ass…
Souvignargues
Little village in the southern Gard, near Nîmes, set in Mediterranean wine country and drained by several small streams.
Thoraise
This pocket-sized hamlet in the Doubs department of eastern France sits within a meander of the Doubs river, with mountains visible in the wider landscape.
Valojoulx
Tiny golden-stone hamlet in the Vézère valley, where a medieval church sits against wooded limestone cliffs, placing you at the heart of Dordogne's UNESCO-ri…
Delle
A little French border town in the Territoire de Belfort whose built-up area spills across into Switzerland's Jura canton, Delle sits right on the water with…
Vers-Pont-du-Gard
The Pont du Gard, the Roman aqueduct bridge that ranks among the best-preserved ancient structures in Europe, stands on the territory of this small village i…
Alès
Gateway town to the Cévennes in southern France's Gard department, Alès sits on the Gardon d'Alès river with mountain terrain rising around it, vineyards in…
Le Pont d'Arc
This natural stone arch spanning the Ardèche river in southern France, where the river broke through a narrow escarpment to create an opening roughly 59 metr…
Chalabre
A compact bastide village in the Aude, Chalabre sits alongside the rivers that drain the Quercorb region and serves as the area's historic capital.
Vauvillers
A tiny Haute-Saône village bearing the regional "Cité de Caractère" label, Vauvillers centers on a grand honey-stone Hôtel de Ville with a multicolored tiled…
Bruniquel
This member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Bruniquel is a pocket-sized village in Tarn-et-Garonne sitting at the confluence of the Aveyron and Vère ri…
Olmeto
This compact stone village on a densely forested Corsican hillside, Olmeto rises above olive-covered slopes with the upland interior behind it and the Valinc…
Saint-Mihiel
This small French town on the Meuse river in Lorraine, Saint-Mihiel centers on a stone church tower and a sculpted war memorial draped in the tricolor, with…
Brioude
This modest Auvergne town on the Allier river, Brioude draws visitors with its grand Romanesque basilica — warm golden-red stone, ornate arcaded apse, and a…
Bouzigues
Oyster production defines this little village on the Étang de Thau lagoon in southern France's Hérault, where an unusual concentration of seafood restaurants…
Casteil
This compact hamlet in the Pyrénées-Orientales with mountain scenery, river access along the Cady, and a surprising number of cafés and historic churches for…
Codognan
A modest village in the Gard department of southern France's Occitanie region, set in wine country and drained by the Rhony river, with a café and restaurant…
Alet-les-Bains
A pocket-sized village in the Aude department of southern France, Alet-les-Bains sits on the River Aude and is known for its mineral spring, the Eau d'Alet.
Bergues
A little canal-ringed town in northern France's Nord department, Bergues sits close to the Belgian border in a historically Flemish area and has a café and r…
Ganges
A compact town in the Hérault department of Occitanie, Ganges sits at the confluence of three rivers — the Hérault, the Rieutord, and the Vis — with a café a…
Rennes-le-Château
A tiny hilltop hamlet in the Aude that draws tens of thousands of visitors each year to the mystery surrounding 19th-century priest Bérenger Saunière, who re…
Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre
Small village in the Hautes-Pyrénées of south-western France, Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre sits along the Gave de Pau river within the historic county of Bigorre.
Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne
A tiny French town in the Ain department where a grand timber-framed market hall, decorated with festive lights and flanked by a stone church, anchors a comp…
Pamiers
Sitting on the right bank of the Ariège river at the foot of the first Pyrenean foothills, Pamiers is the largest town in the Ariège department, with a compa…
Belcaire
Small hamlet in the Aude department of southern France's Occitanie region, Belcaire sits close to the mountains with walking-distance access to water and hol…
Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via
Font-Romeu, one of the oldest ski resorts in France and the oldest in the Pyrenees, anchors this small commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales near the Spanish bo…
Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
This walkable Loire Valley town where a tree-lined riverside promenade, a traditional flat-bottomed boat moored at the bank, and an elegant suspension bridge…
Bagnères-de-Luchon
This Pyrenean spa town in Haute-Garonne, Bagnères-de-Luchon — commonly called Luchon — combines thermal baths with a ski area at Luchon-Superbagnères, reacha…
Lessy
This pocket-sized Moselle village where a robust medieval stone church tower with Gothic-windowed nave and an adjoining churchyard anchors a compact rural co…
Saint-Cyprien
A Mediterranean coastal town in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Saint-Cyprien holds the third-largest marina in France and sits within the historic Roussillon regio…
Montpeyroux
This compact hamlet in the Puy-de-Dôme sits on the water in deep wine country in central France's Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and holds membership in Les Pl…
Béost
Tiny Pyrenean hamlet in southwestern France where a tall medieval stone tower and arched gateway anchor a compact historic core, set close to upland country…
Saugues
This compact stone-built town in the volcanic uplands of Auvergne, Saugues spreads across open rolling pasture land with a church tower rising above its terr…
Bourogne
Peaceful northeastern French village where a pond mirrors blossoming fruit trees and a slender church spire rises above red-tile rooftops, making it a quiet…
Marmande
This compact town in Lot-et-Garonne, south-western France, where the Garonne river runs through the centre and cafés and restaurants are concentrated within…
Tresques
Small village in the Gard department of southern France, Tresques sits in wine country on the banks of the Tave river, with mountain views and UNESCO World H…
Vaux-sur-Poligny
This tiny hamlet set in a broad green valley between forested Jura hillsides, Vaux-sur-Poligny sits in the heart of French wine country with scenic viewpoint…
Cloucarnac
Carnac, on the south coast of Brittany, is defined by its Neolithic menhir alignments — one of the most extensive collections of standing stones in the world…
Autingues
Tiny French hamlet in Pas-de-Calais, Autingues offers a compact brick-built village core with a stepped-gable mairie, rolling countryside surrounds, and easy…
Massat
A compact village in the Ariège department of southwestern France, Massat sits on the Arac river within the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées ariégeoises, w…
Romelfing
A tiny Lorraine hamlet on the water's edge, Romelfing draws quiet visitors with its floodlit stone church tower rising against the evening sky, rolling hills…
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, a small village in Burgundy's Côte-d'Or, is the sole production site of Anis de Flavigny, the anise-flavoured sweets that have made it…
Manderen
Tiny French hamlet in Moselle's upland country, Manderen-Ritzing centres on a warm golden-stone church with a pointed spire, French and European flags flying…
La Souterraine
A little town in the Creuse department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, La Souterraine preserves several traces of its medieval fortifications, including the 13th- and…
Caveirac
This little wine-country village in the Gard, just west of Nîmes, Caveirac sits in the agricultural plains and low hills of the Vaunage, surrounded by extens…
Ramecourt
A tiny French hamlet in the Ternois countryside, Ramecourt centres on a solid stone church with a slate-roofed tower, set among quiet rural lanes within a re…
Venthon
This tiny Savoyard village of timber-and-stone chalets spread across a densely forested hillside above Albertville, Venthon offers easy access to Alpine upla…
Salinelles
A small wine-country hamlet in the southern Gard, Salinelles sits along the Vidourle river in a Mediterranean landscape of protected natural areas, including…
Savoyeux
Tiny riverside hamlet in eastern France's Haute-Saône, Savoyeux offers a calm inland marina where motorboats and barges moor against still water, backed by l…
Laneuville-sur-Meuse
This tiny French hamlet on the Meuse river, dominated by a substantial limestone church with a distinctive slate-roofed tower, set among rolling hills in the…
Belpech
This small village in the Aude department of southern France sits alongside the Hers-Vif river in the Lauragais, the historic region once known as the "Pays…
Gadancourt
A tiny French hamlet in the Val-d'Oise, Gadancourt shows its rural Île-de-France character through stone-and-brick village buildings, a pocket-sized mairie f…
Manom
Pocket-sized French village in Moselle where a handsome stone mairie faces a tall church steeple above the river plain, with hills nearby and a surprisingly…
Limoux
Blanquette de Limoux, a sparkling wine first recorded in a 1544 text and now protected by a designated origin classification, has defined this small Aude tow…
Nouilly
This tiny Lorraine hamlet in Moselle, Nouilly centres on a solid stone church with a pointed slate spire and red-tile roof, sitting close to the water with u…
Cornillon
Small medieval village in the Gard, set on a rocky outcrop above the Cèze river in southern France's wine country, with the Cèze gorges and surrounding garri…
Manosque
Walkable town at the eastern edge of the Luberon in southeastern France, Manosque sits near the Durance river with a food-and-drink scene concentrated in its…
Collonges-la-Rouge
Red sandstone gives this tiny Corrèze hamlet its name and its look: Collonges-la-Rouge is built almost entirely from the deep-red stone, earning it a place i…
Saint-Martial-d'Albarede
Tiny French hamlet in Dordogne's rolling hills, with a handsome stone mairie flying the tricolour, set within a wider region rich in UNESCO-listed heritage a…
Uzès
Uzès, a tiny town in the Gard department of southern France's Occitanie region, carries the historic title of "premier duché de France" — a precedence grante…
Saint-Martin-Boulogne
A small town on the edge of Boulogne-sur-Mer in Pas-de-Calais, Saint-Martin-Boulogne has a notably dense café and restaurant scene for its size, several hist…
Gallargues-le-Montueux
A little wine-country village in the Gard, southern France, where the Vidourle river runs through and a handful of cafés and restaurants serve a place of its…
Mièges
Tiny Jura hamlet in the uplands of eastern France, where a substantial stone church with a clock tower rises above snow-dusted fields, close to scenic viewpo…
Sare
Member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association, Sare is a pocket-sized Basque village in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques on the Spanish border, backed…
Île-de-Sein
A little Breton island in the Atlantic off Finistère, Île-de-Sein sits eight kilometres from the Pointe du Raz, separated from the mainland by the Raz de Sei…
Commercy
This small Lorraine town on the Meuse river, Commercy impresses with its grand classical palace fronting an open courtyard, a compact café scene, and easy ac…
Estagel
This small wine-country village in the Roussillon region of southern France, set in the Agly river basin between the Corbières hills and the Pyrenean massifs.
La Rivière-Drugeon
A little French village in the Doubs where a reed-fringed river widens into a calm pond at the heart of open plateau farmland, with upland country close by a…
Thuir
A sun-warmed Catalan town in southern France's wine-growing Roussillon plain, Thuir pairs a compact café-lined centre with the legacy of its famous aperitif…
Sancey-le-Long
Small cluster of red-tile rooftops sits in a broad pastoral valley in France's Doubs, ringed by wooded hills and farmland, with upland country close by and U…
Blendecques
This small town in the Audomarois area of Pas-de-Calais, Blendecques sits along the Aa river valley south of Saint-Omer, with a central core of cafés and res…
Berck
This seaside resort town on the Opal Coast in northern France's Pas-de-Calais, Berck sits behind a broad sandy beach stretching several kilometres along the…
Brignon
A small village in the Gard department of southern France, Brignon sits alongside the river Gard in deep wine country, with several historic churches for its…
Deaux
Little stone village in southern France's Gard, with a clock-towered church rising above limestone houses, cypress trees, and Mediterranean scrub, set amid t…
Confracourt
This tiny stone-built hamlet in Haute-Saône, Confracourt centres on a striking colonnaded round fountain and chapel, set among traditional limestone building…
Issoudun
Issoudun, a little town in France's Indre department, sits along the Théols river and several smaller waterways, with a café and restaurant scene that punche…
Homps
A compact village in the Minervois wine country of southern France's Aude department, Homps sits where the Canal du Midi meets the River Aude, giving it a wa…
Monpazier
Built in 1284 by Edward I of England, Monpazier is one of the best-preserved bastide towns in the Dordogne, its original grid plan still centred on an arcade…
Cogna
A small French hamlet in the Jura, set among snow-dusted fields and conifer forests with flat-topped hills rising in the distance, sitting close to the water…
Gaillac
Gaillac wine has given this small Tarn town its identity for centuries, with vineyards spreading across the surrounding countryside and the River Tarn runnin…
Les Cluses
A small rural hamlet in the Pyrénées-Orientales of southern France, Les Cluses sits in mountain terrain drained by the Rome river and two smaller watercourse…
Calvisson
This tiny wine-country town in the Gard department of southern France, Calvisson sits in the Vaunage between Nîmes, Montpellier, the Cévennes, and the Camarg…
Guéret
This compact prefectural town in France's Creuse department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, offers a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size.
Salavas
A small Ardèche village sitting right on the water, with a lively café and restaurant scene well above its size, vine-covered surrounds, scenic viewpoints ne…
Argelès-sur-Mer
A Mediterranean coastal town in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Argelès-sur-Mer sits directly on the water with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its s…
Cavillargues
A modest village in the Gard department of southern France, Cavillargues sits alongside the Auzigue river amid Mediterranean vineyard country, with mountain…
Langogne
A small town in the Lozère department of southern France, Langogne sits in the valley of the Allier river at a historic crossroads between the Auvergne, the…
Rustroff
This pocket-sized Moselle village where a stone fountain square fronts a warm-rendered church with a rose window and slate spire, set in upland wine-growing…
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer
A modest Atlantic seaside town on France's Côte de Beauté, just west of Royan in Charente-Maritime, Saint-Palais-sur-Mer developed as a resort in the late 19…
Haute-Isle
Haute-Isle, a tiny commune in Val-d'Oise north of Paris, is home to the only church in Île-de-France carved entirely into a cliff face — one of just a handfu…
Luxeuil-les-Bains
Known since Celtic times for its hot springs, Luxeuil-les-Bains is a pocket-sized spa town in Haute-Saône, eastern France, where thermal bathing has shaped t…
Lézignan-Corbières
Small town in the heart of the Corbières wine region of southern France's Aude department, Lézignan-Corbières sits alongside the Orbieu river and holds a Vin…
Vittel
Vittel, a small spa town in the Vosges department of northeastern France, is the source of the globally recognised Vittel mineral water, bottled here by Nest…
Gray
A little town on the Saône river in eastern France's Haute-Saône department, Gray developed a commercial identity from the 13th century onward and became one…
Limousis
Small hamlet in the Aude department of southern France, Limousis sits on the Orbiel river at the edge of the Montagne Noire, the southern rim of the Massif C…
Le Riols
A tiny French hamlet in Tarn's hilly countryside, Le Riols sits directly at the water's edge and punches above its size with several historic churches, all w…
Souillac
A little Dordogne-valley town in the Lot with a riverside setting, a compact café-and-restaurant core, vineyard surroundings, and easy access to the wider re…
Cardet
This modest French village in the Gard, Cardet sits right on the water amid deep wine country, with upland landscapes close by and several UNESCO World Herit…
Hôtel de Ville
A waterfront French town with a heritage-dense streetscape, an unusual number of churches, and a lively café and restaurant scene, all within reach of a UNES…
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