Romantic getaways in France off the beaten path.
Less-touristed romantic getaways in France, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…