 Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
The organization known as Les Plus
Beaux Villages de France was founded way back in 1982 by the then mayor
(Charles Ceyrac) of Collonges-la-Rouge in the Corrèze départment of
France. This village became the first ever designated ‘Most Beautiful
Village’. The aim was to protect some of the smaller villages of France
that tended to be somewhat off the beaten track. Membership of the
movement helps to protect the heritage of these small communities. There
are certain criteria that these villages must adhere to. For example,
the population must not exceed 2000 inhabitants and the village/hamlet
must have at least 2 sites or protected monuments.
At the moment there
are149 villages in the scheme (see a complete listing
here), with 146 in mainland France, 2 in Corsica
and one on the Island of La Réunion in Dom-Tom. However, this number can
be added to and existing villages are closely monitored to make sure
that they continue to adhere to the movements strict principles, based
on their intrinsic architecture, heritage and beauty. Nearly all of the
regions of France have villages in the scheme - to see the ones that are
featured on France For Families check out the links on the map below.
For further information, click the link and it will take you to the
regional information page within our site. |
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