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Discover 13 of France's most beautiful villages, plus the town the French love the best

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Discover 13 of France's most beautiful villages, plus the town the French love the best
A trout fisherman waits for a catch at the start of the fishing season on the Nive River in the village of Saint-Etienne de Baigorry, in the French Basque Country, on March 14, 2020. (Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / AFP)

Every year, the TV channel France 3 runs a competition to find the best-loved villages in France. It's one of the most popular events of the TV calendar, attracting around 2 million viewers, and it's also a great way to discover some more off-the-beaten track places to visit in France. So here are the 14 finalists for 2021.

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The final of Le village préféré des français (France's favourite village) was screened earlier in the summer, but we reckon that each of the 14 finalists are well worth a visit.

1 Hérisson - Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Its name means hedgehog in French, but locals say there will be no spiky welcome for people who come to see the many historic treasures of this village, from the remains of the 10th century castle overlooking the village to its Roman remains and village houses dating from the 13th century.

The village is situated deep in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France, which is less well known for tourists but well worth a visit to explore its stunning scenery and many excellent cheeses.

READ ALSO 10 reasons to visit Auvergne

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Villerville in Normandy is a popular holiday spot, but a lot less busy than nearby Deauville. Photo: JOEL SAGET / AFP

2 Châteauneuf - Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

This medieval village is generally agreed to be one of France's prettiest, with its limestone houses huddling beneath a 12th century castle.

Situated in Burgundy wine country, it's also close to the beautiful Morvan natural park.

READ ALSO Morvan: Why you should visit one of France's most beautiful and least-known areas

3 Île d'Houat - Brittany

This tiny island off the Quiberon peninsula of Brittany is just 4km in length and has 230 inhabitants. There are no cars on the island, which is all the better to enjoy the peace, long sandy beaches and wildlife. The island was classified as a Natura 200 zone due to its unspoiled wilderness.

Nearby is the slightly larger island of Belle-Île-en-Mer if you fancy an island-hopping trip.

READ ALSO The 20 essential maps to understand Brittany

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The circular wash house in Auvillar, south west France. Photo: PASCAL PAVANI / AFP

4 Sancerre - Centre-Val-de-Loire (the winner)

This is the heart of wine country and Sancerre is best known for the white wine of the same name. Surrounded by 3,000 hectares of vineyards, the village itself perches on a hilltop around the remains of a medieval castle.

There is also the House of Sancerre visitor centre which tells you more about how the wines are made, and a local goat's cheese that goes particularly well with a glass of wine.

Maybe it was the wine-cheese combination, but Sancerre was the winner of the public vote and is now officially France's favourite village (until next year, when the competition starts all over again).

5 Saint-Florent - Corsica

This former fishing port in the north of the island of Corsica shows much of the influence of the Genose who ruled the island before it became French territory in 1768, in particular the large coastal citadel.

It also has beautiful beaches.

6 Rocroi - Grand Est

This village, right on the Belgian border, is arranged in a highly unusual star shape around its 17th century fortress - the only village apart from Palmanova in Italy to have such well-preserved star-shaped fortifications and layout.

It is in the beautiful Ardennes national park and close to Belgium so combines well with a trip over the border to sample beer and chocolate.

7 Le Désirade - Gaudeloupe 

This 21km island lies off the coast of the French overseas territory of Gaudeloupe and has the white sandy beaches and coral reefs common to that part of the world. The island is also criss-crossed with hiking trails which are the best way to see its lush vegetation and diverse fauna before heading to the beach for a cocktail. 

8 Long - Hauts de France 

This village in northern France is located next to marshland which is described as a 'fisherman's paradise'. In the marsh you can also see the wild Camargue horses from the Camargue marshes in southern France as well as numerous other wildlife.

It's also the site of one of France's first hydroelectric power stations.

The architecture on Corsica shows the island's Italian past. Photo: PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA / AFP

9 Samois-sur-Seine - Île-de-France

An easy day-trip from Paris, this village borders the Fontainebleau forest and contains the former home of writers Châteaubriant, Alfred de Musset and George Sand. 

As the name suggests, it sits on the banks of the Seine, which offers some spots with a lovely view to enjoy a glass of wine in.

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10 Villerville - Normandy 

The neighbouring Normandy towns of Deauville and Honfleur are much better known and, correspondingly, much busier during the summer season, but this small former fishing village perched on the clifftop is just as pretty.

It's been a favourite haunt for artists over the years including musician Gabriel Fauré, the singer Mistinguett and the playwright Georges Feydeau and if you're a fan of old French movies you might recognise it as the setting for Un Singe en hiver with Jean Gabin and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

11 Domme - Nouvelle Aquitaine 

This is a bastide, a fortified village from the 13th century that is perched 200m over the Dordogne river. As well as being exceptionally pretty with well-preserved fortifications, the village also has the region's largest caves with an impressive collection of stalacmites and stalactites.

It's in Périgord, which is duck country and the local cuisine is heavily based on duck and foie gras and is also delicious.

The village of Auvillar is on the Santiago de Compostella pilgrim route. Photo: PASCAL PAVANI / AFP

12 Auvillar - Occitanie

Auvillar was, until the 19th century, an important river trading post, after which it sank into obscurity. This combination has given it some impressive historic buildings - including the boat masters' houses in the village centre - which have been well preserved as the village gradually became a backwater. 

It's still a stopover point on the Santiago de Compostella pilgrim route, so you will see travellers heading though the village on their way to Spain, some of whom do the pilgrimage the traditional way with donkeys.

13 Fresnay-sur-Sarthe - Pays de la Loire

The village forms one of the 'gateways' to the Normandie-Maine natural park, this is another fortified village - originally a town build on the hemp trade (cloth, not cannabis). It also has a 9th century castle keep.

14 Saint-Véran - Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

No, the health minister didn't get sainthood, this is a village perched in the Alps on the French-Italian border - it's the highest commune in Europe at 2,042m above sea level.

Unsurprisingly its views are stunning and it is popular with tourists in both winter and summer, especially as the village has kept its traditional centre with a communal bread oven, fountains and church that is a historic monument.

If these have inspired you to do some exploring, you can also check out the shortlists from the favourite village competitions in 2020 and 2019

 

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Anonymous 2021/08/23 13:11
I was amused that you think one can see Carmargue horses in Hauts de France. Whoever wrote this does not have the first idea about the geography of France.
Anonymous 2021/08/22 16:46
Although well intentioned, this article needs a bit of editing. Some pictures do not correspond to the town descriptions, Brittany and the Round House at Auvillar; a picture of a Corsican castle in the Hauts de France segment. And, a big geographical boo-boo, the Camargue is not in the Hauts de France. Last time I visited there it was on the coast in the department of Gard in the south-east of France, close to Arles. By the way, Google maps does not list a town of Long in France, Chateau de Long between Abbeville and Amiens is the closest I could find. This kind of article is important to me because I use this information to plan my trips to France. It would also be very nice, once the geographical edits are done, to reprint it and include proper fotos of the towns highlighting the attractions mentioned. Thank you.

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