If you are travelling to France or planned to, if you are interested in discovering some beautiful typical (in a positive sense) small French villages, have a look at “The most beautiful villages of France” (a pitty that this site is only available in French….).

This association has choosen only 148 villages of the 32’000 in France (less than 0.5%), so a tough selection. The criteria are very well defined and difficult to fulfill:
– small village, with less than 2’000 inhabitants
– a proven rural heritage, with a minimum of two officially registered historical buildings
– a very homogeneous and coherent architecture and preserved landscape
– a real willingness of the inhabitants and the mayor to preserve this harmony and homogeneity within the village