French food and café towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed food and café towns in France, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
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-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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Gruissan
A little Mediterranean coastal town in the Aude, southeast of Narbonne, Gruissan sits within the Narbonnaise en Méditerranée regional nature park alongside l…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…