Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
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Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France") is an independent association, created in 1982, that aims to promote small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. As of 2008, 152 villages in France have been labelled as the "Plus Beaux Villages de France".
There are a few criteria before entering the association: the population of the village must not exceed 2,000 inhabitants, there must be at least 2 protected areas (picturesque or legendary sites, or sites of scientific, artistic or historic interest), and the decision to apply must be taken by the town council.
Similar associations have been set up in Wallonia (Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie), Quebec (Les Plus Beaux Villages du Québec), Italy (I Borghi Piu Belli d'Italia) and Spain (Los pueblos más bonitos de España).
Quality, promotion, and development
The mission of the association is to preserve, promote and develop cultural and natural heritage in the villages.
Villages' urban and architectural quality are regularly evaluated.
A guidebook of the most beautiful villages of France is edited by Reader's Digest (French only).
List of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
Alsace
Aquitaine
- Dordogne
- Lot-et-Garonne
- Monflanquin
- Pujols-le-Haut (commune of Pujols)
- Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Auvergne
Brittany
Burgundy
Centre
Champagne-Ardenne
No village labelled
Corsica
Franche-Comté
Île-de-France
Languedoc-Roussillon
- Aude
- Gard
- Hérault
- Lozère
- La Garde-Guérin (commune of Prévenchères)
- Sainte-Enimie
- Pyrénées-Orientales
- Castelnou
- Eus
- Évol (commune of Olette-Évol)
- Mosset
- Villefranche-de-Conflent
Limousin
Lorraine
Lower Normandy
Midi-Pyrénées
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
No village labelled
Pays de la Loire
Picardy
Poitou-Charentes
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Rhône-Alpes
Upper Normandy
Overseas departments and territories of France
- Réunion
- Hell-Bourg (commune of Salazie)
See also
