Salut, tout le monde!
Having lived in France for four years, I had visited a good handful of what are consider “les plus beaux villages de France.” In other words, these are several dozen villages throughout the country which have been promoted by national tourism as having “rich, cultural heritage,” as means of drawing visitors in to take in the beauty of them all.
Throughout my time in France, I’ve visited perhaps a dozen of them, from those in Alsace to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to Occitanie. However, a dozen doesn’t cut it, as the current list of villages features more than 150 of them. Every time I scroll on social media (thanks, Instagram), I always come across some French village which I haven’t been to and, every time, I fall in love a bit with the charm of it all. Makes me want to return to France sooner than I want, honestly. XD
That said, I’ve decided to provide a small list of “les plus beaux villages de France” that I hope to visit someday. I will say that I am biased, and that the overwhelming majority of them are from the Occitanie region (which is one of my favorites in France), but in any case, I hope to step foot in my second country in order to see them all. If you have any recommendations for other “plus beaux villages de France,” please let me know!
5 Beautiful Villages I Want to Visit in France
1. Cordes-sur-Ciel (Occitanie)

2. Belcastel (Occitanie)

3. La Roche-Guyon (île-de-France)

4. Saint-Cirq-Lapopie (Occitanie)

5. Lyons-la-Fôret (Normandy)

What are some plus beaux villages de France you’ve visited? Let me know!
— Rebecca
So awesome photos and I’m so happy for you visited beautiful villages 🌷👌🙏♥️
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I haven’t visited these villages, but I’d like to someday!
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So nice thoughts , we can see heritage beauty in villages 👌🌷🙏
Here also I saw some villages in Malacca and Penang 😍❤️🌷
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So many beautiful villages in Occitanie! I can see why Cordes-sur-Ciel has “ciel” in the name. Adding these places to my list too…
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Yes, it’s almost literally in the clouds! Hope you can visit the villages someday.
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This makes want to return again . So many sites to see. Normandy was a very historic site but didn’t see Cordes-sur-Ciel ..very interesting.
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I hope you can return someday! I lived in Normandy for two years, so I’m biased for that region!
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Wow! What a great place to live .
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Would love to visit one or all of these villages Rebecca
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Hopefully, you can!
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Well, needless to say I would put all of these villages on my list should I ever get round to some proper travelling around France. If I could only choose one it’d have to be Cordes-sur-Ciel.
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Yes, it looks like Cordes-sur-Ciel is a popular one! Hope you can return to France to check it out!
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These places are so luring!
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They are, thanks!
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Nice selection. I have only been to Belcastel, and there is more or less the same photo on my site. I need to get back on the road to get out of the big cities and see all these villages where the regional character is more accentuated.
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I’m sure that particular photo angle is a popular shooting spot! There are many plus beaux villages in the île-de-France region, so they can keep you occupied on weekend getaways. 🙂
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I’ve only ever heard of one on your list. But looking at the pictures, it does look like a magical place. I would absolutely come with you. You can be my translator!
Just kidding.
I do hope you get to go see all of these one day soon. They’re all beautiful.
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Which village have you heard of? Haha, my French has gotten rusty since returning to the US, but I get by! How’s your French, considering you’re Canadian and had (possibly) taken courses in grade school?
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Wonderful! When do we leave?? 🙂
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Whenever you want!
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Delightful villages! I can see why you want to visit.
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Absolutely! Perhaps one day soon…
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Gorgeous selection! In truth France has thousands of beautiful villages and I’m slowly working my way around them all.
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Nice! Which have been your favorite so far?
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Impossible to narrow it down to just one
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I can understand; I want to see them all!
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Exactly
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What a wonderful collection of beautiful villages, Rebecca 🙂 While pretty much everyone loves visiting Paris for its world-class restaurants, cafés, and museums, there’s plenty more to see in France than just the capital. Over the years, while exploring different regions of France, we’ve discovered that the villages and small towns in France have beauty to rival any major city in the world, with hilltop views, flower-lined canals, and pastel buildings pulled straight from the pages of a storybook. Thanks for sharing, and have a nice day 🙂 Aiva xx
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Yes, definitely! There’s so much more to France than just Paris. I love Paris, but to really get that traditional French charm, escaping to the small villages is the way to go. 😊
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I can see why this would be a goal. Gorgeous. It reminds me that we have a coffee table book called “The Most Beautiful Villages in England.” I should probably give that a look before we depart in case any are near where we’ll be.
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I believe Bibury might be on the list for England’s “most beautiful villages?” Even if it’s not, it’s high on my bucket list! Enjoy your time back there!
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Ooh, Cordes-sur-Ciel looks magical! I’m not sure if it’s been aired in the US, but it reminds me a lot of the city in the sky in the second series of His Dark Materials (a BBC series, based on Philip Pulman’s books). I think the only “plus beaux villages” I’ve visited are Eguisheim (in Alsace) and St-Croix-en-Jarez (in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). Both beautiful, but Eguisheim had the edge for me as I’m a sucker for pastel-coloured half-timbered buildings!
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I’ve visited Eguisheim, but it’s a shame I never got around to visiting Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, despite living in the Lyon region for two years; it was RIGHT in my backyard! Looks like I’ll have to add it to my list to go. I love you can return to France to check out more plus beaux villages when you can!
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Sometimes it’s the places that are on your doorstep that you don’t get round to visiting! One day, eh! Here’s hoping for a return visit to France when travel restrictions are a bit less chaotic.
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Absolutely lovely!
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Definitely so!
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Such pretty little places
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I agree!
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all of them look like a fairytale waiting to happen. you have to be impressed the way they built the villages and castles up the top of mountains.
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Definitely impressive! If that were to happen in California (where it’s notorious for earthquakes), the buildings wouldn’t last that long!
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Can highly recommend Saint Cirq Lapopie. Would also recommend Rocamadour, Beynac, La Roque Gageac in that area. Also in Provence you should visit Les Baux-de-Provence, Saignon, Roussillon and Gordes. In the north we liked Dinan and of course Le Mont St Michel. Happy planning, cheers, Mark
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I’ve been to Rocamadour, Roussillon, Gordes, Dinan, and le Mont St. Michel. I had tried THREE times to go to Les Baux-de-Provence whilst in the south of France two years ago, but it never materialized. I’m focused on returning to France in order to check it out!!
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There are so many lovely villages to see in France (and other European countries). We have a twice rescheduled boat trip booked in France on the Canal du Rhine near Strasbourg which we are hoping to now do in 2023, Covid-19 restrictions permitting. Good luck with your planning. Cheers, Mark
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I hope you can make it over to the Canal du Rhine; it’s a really gorgeous part of Europe!
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Wow, they all look stunning! Thank you for introducing them to me. I wish I can go right now.
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Thanks! I hope you can go to France soon; it appears the world’s slowly opening up. 🙂
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What a treat to live in France for four years! These all look worth a visit, but the first photo, truly sur le ciel, took my breath away.
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Cordes-sur-Ciel is such a pretty place, as it’s almost quite literally in the clouds! It’s on my bucket list of places to visit if I return to France!
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I haven’t been to any of these villages. Can I join you ;)?
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Please do! One of these days…
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Am looking forward to popping across from Switzerland to have a look – They look like my kind of villages. Thanks for sharing.
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My pleasure! Hope you can hop over to check out your neighboring country’s villages!
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