France has beautiful architecture, centuries of history and spectacular settings that make it a popular location for filmmakers. You can find thousands of rural gems by traveling the backroads.
Staying in or around the prettiest villages is even better if you arrive early or late on a day. Here are 10 of the prettiest places to visit.
The charming ze clings precariously to a craggy peak, with elegant little art galleries, boutiques and restaurants wedged along its cobbled lanes.
The Fort de la Revre was built in the 19th century to protect Nice. On a clear day you can see all the way to the gulf of St-Tropez from the site of an earlier medieval fortress.
Don't confuse ze with the seaside town of ze-sur-Mer, which is 1407 feet above sea level. Walking up isn't recommended in the hot sun, but with good hiking boots and plenty of water, it's a 45 minute descent.
The hilltop village of Gordes used to be in charge of guarding the city of Cavaillon.
Market stalls sell Provenal fabrics, linens, soaps, sun-ripened fruit and vegetables, cheese, wine and other provisions for an idyllic picnic on Tuesday mornings.
The Village des Bories is one of the best places to see the ancient bories, which are best seen in the summer.
The village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain is 36 miles northwest of Dijon and was founded in the 8th century. The aniseed sweets were made by Benedictine monks using green aniseed grown on the hill, which is a legacy of Julius Caesar's field base here.
The smell of the sweets in the old abbey welcomes you on arrival, and tours include tastings. The setting for the movie Chocolat was the village.
The French Catalonian village of Villefranche-de-Conflent is located in the eastern Pyrenees and was occupied by the Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Spanish over the centuries. Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the military architect of French king Louis XIV, built the ramparts in the 11th century.
You can look out through the arrow slits over the valley. Above the village's boutique-lined streets is Vauban's vast Fort libéria. One of the caves was fortified by Vauban. The work of Vauban is now protected by Unesco World Heritage.
The panoramic views from Villefranche-de-Conflent can be seen from the open-topped carriages of the Le Train Jaune.
St-milion is located east of Bordeaux in southwestern France and is a UNESCO listed jewel. The village is named after a miracle-working monk who lived in a cave in the 8th century.
The cave, along with an early 12th-century church carved in the limestone rock, is one of the places that can only be visited on tourist-office-run tours. The Maison du Vin de St-milion is open to the public.
There are window boxes in the picture. The village is a medieval vision of cobbled streets and squares with a huddle of slate-roofed granite and half-timbered buildings. It is a great place to stroll from place St-Michel to the ruined castle's gardens and the shores of the lake.
Immerse yourself in the best experiences the world has to offer with our email newsletter delivered weekly into your inbox.Pérouges is close to France's "gastronomic capital," Lyon. The village is known for its name, galette pérougienne. The Hostellerie du Vieux Pérouges is where the thin, flat sugared tarts were made. Pérouges has pebbled alleys, yellow-stone houses and linden trees that were planted during the French Revolution. It is possible to see the village after dark.
In the Middle Ages, the steep alleys of clifftop St-Cirq-Lapopie were filled with the workshops of artisans such as roubinetares. Today's higgledy-piggledy lanes are home to art galleries, restaurants and quaint places to stay; highlights include early-16th-century Gothic church and panoramic castle ruins.
The gabarre gives a wonderful view of the village on the sheer cliffs that plummet to the river valley.
The fairy tale Bergheim is located on the Alsace Wine Route in northeastern France and is surrounded by vines and forests. The Haxahus (La Maison des Sorcires or Witches' House) tells the story of the history of the village, which has seen rulers, invasions and even burnings at the stake for witchcraft.
There are pastel Hansel-and-Gretel-style half-timbered buildings to the right of the Obertor gate. Walk around Bergheim's 14th-century ramparts after sampling the local vintages and Alsatian specialties at Wistub du Sommelier.
St-Jean Pied de Port is located in the French Basque Country at the base of the western Pyrenees.
Pilgrims still enter the whitewashed mountain village through Porte St- Jacques, one of four medieval gates guarding the walled town, following the route's traditional scallop shells embedded along rue de la Citadelle. The Porte Notre-Dame is next to a bridge that spans the River Nive. Basque traditions include Monday morning markets and pelota ball sports.
The article was first published in November.
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