Les Plus Beaux Villages de France is a sign you might see driving around France. It means the most beautiful villages of France and is shown at several small rural villages with a rich cultural history. In this article, we will talk about these most beautiful villages of France.
The Most Beautiful Villages Association
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France is an independent association created in 1982 to promote small villages to tourists. The association was initiated in Collonges-La-Rouge, a small but particular village, as all its houses are made of red stone. The major read about his village in a book called Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, and he decided to give these villages more promotion by launching an association to promote them. Right now, 172 villages all across France are part of this marketing.
To become one of France’s most beautiful villages, you must fill out an application to receive the label. The village must be rural, have no more than 2000 inhabitants, and include two national heritage sites. The town must have a real attraction to tourists, and several aspects are assessed, including architecture, facilities for tourists, and environmental quality.
Following the success of the French certification, other countries have formed similar organisations, including Italy, Japan, Switzerland and Wallonie (the French part of Belgium).
Visit These Most Beautiful Villages in France
We have not been to all 172 villages yet, but there are a few we can recommend so far:
Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy
You might not realise that the very well-known tidal island with its monastery has the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France certification, but it certainly does. There are only a few inhabitants on the island, and it has a lot of history and importance to France.
The abbey takes in most of the island, but several cobblestoned roads up to it have houses next to it. These days most houses are tourist shops or restaurants, but it is still an imposing sight.
You won’t be able to get close to the tidal island with your camper, but there are several places around where you can park or even camp. Buses will take you to the island, or you can bike or walk over the wooden pathway.
>> Our visit to Mont-Saint-Michel and La-Roque-Gageac <<
La Roque-Gageac, Dordogne
La Rogue-Gageac is situated on the bank of the Dordogne river with a steep mountain/hill on the other side. The yellow-stoned houses typical for this part of France line up next to the river, and there are a few rows of houses behind them, each one higher up on/in the mountain.
A particular addition to the village is the tropical garden. The plants can flourish here because the cliff behind the village protects them from harsh weather while giving them plenty of sun.
Parking in La Roque-Gageac with your RV or campervan will be tricky. However, just one small village over there is a great camper spot; Aire Camping-Car Park, next to Camping La Plage. From there, it is a lovely walk to the most beautiful village.
Collonges-La-Rouge, Corrèze
This completely red village is where the association for the most beautiful villages of France began. The red sandstone that gives these houses their unique looks gives the village a magnificent sight. Especially the priory. This is definitely something you would like to see.
But again, like Mont-Saint-Michel, there are also a lot of shops and restaurants in the village these days. Luckily it is mainly one street here, and part of the village is still inhabited, giving it more of a real village feeling than the former. And the shops are more varied.
There are normal tourist shops, but there are also quite a few art and craftsmanship shops like woodwork or pottery. Natalie loves to go to Collonges-La-Rouge to shop or snoop around when we go to her parents, who live nearby.
Autoire, Lot
Like all Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Autoire is a small village. But it does have everything you could want when visiting a small village; medieval, pretty houses, a small church, and a lovely walk through the forest, which leads to a waterfall.
>> Check out our vlog where we visit Autoire <<
The small village even has a restaurant where you can get a nice ice cream or eat lunch or dinner. In spring, it isn’t too busy in the area, but summer can get quite busy.
We would not recommend going with your motorhome into the village during summer. We recommend parking a little outside the village and then going on foot.
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