Most beautiful villages in France (Plus Beaux Villages de France)
Le Plus Beaux Villages de France is an independent association of the most beautiful villages of France , created in 1982 with the aim of promoting and developing tourism in the country’s small and picturesque villages. As of 2024, the association of the most beautiful villages of France included 178 villages.
The idea of creating this network was born in Collonges-la-Rouge (Corrèze, Occitainie), on the initiative of the Charles Ceyrac, then mayor of the town and member of parliament. Discovering a book entitled Les Plus Beaux Villages de France , in the window of the Sélection du Reader’s Digest bookstore in Paris, and which showed his village on the cover, he decided to launch an association bringing together villages to bring them out of anonymity and revive their economy.
Members of the association must meet strict requirements: the population must not exceed 2,000 people, they must be rural in nature and include at least two monuments of national significance. The list is dynamic, with new villages being added periodically after meeting the strict criteria.
Other associations:
Plus Beaux Villages de France also works with other organizations with a tourism and cultural vocation, under a common banner, France. Patrimoines & Territoires d’exception, which brings together seven networks of communities to promote French destinations of excellence:
- The Most Beautiful Villages in France (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France),
- The Most Beautiful Detours in France (Les Plus Beaux Détours de France) ,
- Small Towns of Character in France (Petites Cités de Caractère de France) ,
- Remarkable Sites and Cities (Sites et Cités remarquables),
- Federation of Regional Natural Parks of France (Fédération des Parcs naturels régionaux de France),
- Network of Major Sites of France (Grands Sites de France) ,
- Cities and Crafts (Villes et Métiers d’art).
These other brands are differentiated mainly by their fields of application (population strata of municipalities, levels of requirement of admission criteria, amount of their contributions, etc.).
Most beautiful villages in France
Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes:
Auvergne
- Arlempdes
- Blesle
- Charroux
- Lavaudieu
- Montpeyroux
- Polignac
- Pradelles
- Salers
- Saint-Saturnin
- Tournemire
- Usson
Rhone-Alpes:
- Balazuc
- Bonneval-sur-Arc
- Chatillon-en-Diois
- The Adhemar Guard
- The Poet-Laval
- Mirmande
- Montbrun-les-Bains
- Ointment
- Pérouges
- Saint-Antoine-l’Abbaye
- Holy Cross in Jarez
- Sixt-Horseshoe
- Vogüé
- Yvoire
Burgundy:
- Chateauneuf
- Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
- Noyers-sur-Serein
- Semur-en-Brionnais
- Vezelay
Bretagne (Brittany):
- Locronan
- Moncontour
- Rochefort-en-Land
- Saint-Suliac
Centre-Val de Loire:
- Apremont-sur-Allier
- Candes-Saint-Martin
- Crissay-sur-Manse
- Gargilesse-Dampierre
- Lavardin
- Montresor
- Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
- Yevre-le-Châtel
Corsica (Corsica):
Piana
Franche-Comte:
- Baume-les-Gentlemen
- Chateau-Chalon
- Lods
- Pesmes
Hauts-de-France:
- Gerberoy
- Parfondeval
Grand Est:
Alsace:
Lorraine:
- Rodemack
- Saint-Quirin
Riquewihr
Ile-de-France:
- La Roche-Guyon
Normandy:
- Barfleur
- Beuvron-en-Auge
- Bec-Hellouin
- Lyons-la-Forêt
- Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei
Nouvelle-Aquitaine:
Aquitaine
- Ainhoa
- Belvès
- Beynac-et-Cazenac
- Castelnaud-la-Chapelle
- Domme
- La Bastide-Clairence
- La Roque-Gageac
- Limeuil
- Monflanquin
- Monpazier
- Pujols-le-Haut
- Saint-Amand-de-Coly
- Saint-Jean-de-Côle
- Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere
- Sare
- Tournon-d’Agenais
Poitou-Charentes:
- Angles-sur-l’Anglin
- Ars-en-Re
- Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
- The Fleet
- Mornac-sur-Seudre
- Talmont-sur-Gironde
Limousin:
- Collonges-la-Rouge
- Curemonte
- Mortemart
- Saint-Robert
- Segur-le-Château
- Turenne
Occitanie:
Languedoc-Roussillon:
- Aiguèze
- Castelnou
- Eus
- Evol
- La Garde-Guérin
- La Roque-sur-Cèze
- Lagrasse
- Le Malzieu-Ville
- Minerve
- Montclus
- Mosset
- Olargues
- Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
- Sainte-Enimie
- Villefranche-de-Conflent
Midi-Pyrenees:
- Auvillar
- Autoire
- Belcastel
- Brousse-le-Château
- Bruniquel
- Camon
- Capdenac-le-Haut
- Cardaillac
- Carennac
- Castelnau-de-Montmiral
- Conques
- Cordes-sur-Ciel
- Estaing
- Fources
- The Covered Terrace
- Larressingle
- Lautrec
- Lauzerte
- Lavardens
- Loubressac
- Monesties
- Montreal
- Najac
- Peyre
- Puycelsi
- Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
- Saint-Côme-d’Olt
- Sainte-Eulalie-d’Olt
- Sarrant
- Saveterre-de-Rouergue
Pays de la Loire:
- Fontevraud-l’Abbaye
- Montsoreau
- Sainte-Suzanne
- Vouvant
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur:
- Ansouis
- Bargeme
- Coaraze
- Gassin
- Gordes
- Gourdon
- The Grave
- The Leases of Provence
- Lourmarin
- Menerbes
- Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
- Roussillon
- Saint Agnes
- Seillans
- Seguret
- Saint-Véran
- Tourtour
- Venasque
Rousillon
By alphabetical order:
Aiguèze
Ainhoa
Angles-sur-l’Anglin
Ansouis
Apremont-sur-Allier
Arlempdes
Ars-en-Ré
Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
Autoire
Auvillar
Balazuc
Bargème
Barfleur
Baume-les-Messieurs
Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (Correze)
Belcastel
Belvès
Beuvron-en-Auge
Beynac-et-Cazenac
Blangy-le-Chateau (Calvados)
Blesle
Bonneval-sur-Arc
Brouage (Charente-Maritime)
Brousse-le-Château
Bruniquel
Camon
Candes-Saint-Martin
Capdenac-le-Haut
Cardaillac
Carennac
Castelnau-de-Montmiral
Castelnaud-la-Chapelle
Castelnou
Charroux
Chateau-Chalon
Châteauneuf
Châtillon-en-Diois
Coaraze
Collonges-la-Rouge
Conques
Cordes-sur-Ciel
Cotignac (Var)
Crissay-sur-Manse
Curemonte
Domme
Eguisheim
Entrevaux (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence)
Estaing
Eus
Evol
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
Fontevraud-l’Abbaye (Maine-et-Loire)
Fourcès
Gargilesse-Dampierre
Gassin
Gerberoy
Gordes
Gourdon
Grignan (Drome)
Hell-Bourg (Reunion)
Hunawihr
Hunspach
La Bastide-Clairence
La Couvertoirade
La Flotte
La Garde-Adhémar
La Garde-Guérin
La Grave
La Roche-Guyon
La Romieu (Gers)
La Roque-Gageac
La Roque-sur-Cèze
Lagrasse
Larressingle
Lautrec
Lauzerte
Lavardens
Lavardin
Lavaudieu
Lavoûte-Chilhac (Haute-Loire)
Le Bec-Hellouin
Le Castellet (Var)
Le Malzieu-Ville
Le Poët-Laval
Les Baux-de-Provence
Limeuil
Locronan
Lods
Loubressac
Lourmarin
Lussan (Gard)
Lyons-la-Forêt
Hammer (Lot)
Ménerbes
Minerve
Mirmande
Mittelbergheim
Monflanquin
Moncontour
Monestiés
Monpazier
Montbrun-les-Bains
Montclus
Montreal
Montpeyroux
Montrésor
Montsoreau
Mornac-sur-Seudre
Mortemart
Mosset
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Najac
Navarrenx (Pyrenees-Atlantique)
Noyers-sur-Serein
Oingt
Olargues
Parfondeval
Penne-d’Agenais (Lot-et-Garonne)
Pérouges
Pesmes
Peyre
Piana
Polignac
Pradelles
Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste (Pyrenees-Orientales)
Pujols-le-Haut
Puycelsi
Riquewihr
Rochefort-en-Terre
Rodemack
Roussillon
Saint-Amand-de-Coly
Saint-Antoine-l’Abbaye
Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (Haute Garonne)
Saint Agnes
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez
Sainte-Enimie
Sainte-Eulalie-d’Olt
Sainte-Suzanne
Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
Saint-Côme-d’Olt
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
Saint-Jean-de-Côle
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (Pyrenees-Atlantiques)
Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere
Saint-Quirin
Saint-Robert
Saint-Saturnin
Saint-Suliac
Saint-Véran
Salers
Sancerre (Cher)
Sant’Antonino
Saorge (Alpes-Maritimes)
Sare
Sarrant
Sauveterre-de-Rouergue
Seillans
Séguret
Semur-en-Brionnais
Ségur-le-Château
Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval
Talmont-sur-Gironde
Tournemire
Tournon-d’Agenais
Tourtour
Turenne
Usson
Venasque
Veules-les-Roses (Seine-Maritime)
Vezelay
Villefranche-de-Conflent
Villereal (Lot-et-Garonne)
Villefranche-de-Conflent
Vogüé
Vouvant
Yèvre-le-Châtel
Yvoire