When most people think France, they immediately think Paris, and often times it is unfortunately the only city they visit. Here are 9 of the most beautiful small towns in France, that are NOT Paris.
I have nothing against Paris, as it is still definitely a must see, but I have found that the true beauty and culture of a country can sometimes be found even stronger outside of the big cities (France especially). Next time you are looking to take a French vacation, I recommend renting a car and canvasing the countryside.
You may also enjoy: 20 of the Most Beautiful Fairytale Castles
Enjoy these photos of the most beautiful small towns in France!
9 Small Towns in France You Have to Visit
1. Moustiers Sainte-Marie
2. Annecy in France
3. Gerberoy
4. La Roque Gageac
5. Riquewihr
6. Colmar, France
7. Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
8. Gordes
9. Semur – En – Auxois
What are some of your favorite towns in France?
How many days are required to cover these towns.
It depends. They are scattered all over France so it would take weeks to visit them all. If you are just visiting one or two you could do that in a few days depending on how much time you want to spend in each.
Planning to travel in April for 7-8 days. Which towns you would recommend to cover.
I would say hit Annecy and Colmar. They are fairly close together so they would be easier to get to quickly. Have fun!!
Riquewihr and the Alsace wine route towns in general are beautiful and the road begins at Colmar, so that is also doable with Annecy and Colmar. Don’t skip over Besancon.
Any particular reason for choosing these cities out of the many in France? I personally think Amiens is charming and absolutely lovely (though I am be biased since I spent a semester there in college).
Hey Anita! I just chose 9 of my favorite. There are so many I am discovering every day I should probably expand this post! I had never heard of Amiens before you mentioned it. Just googled it and it is beautiful! Thanks for sharing that.
Collioure is always a good one. If Mattise liked it so much, they must be doing something right over there lol.
Oh wow! I had to google that one and you are right. Colliourie has now been added to my bucket list. :) Have you been Liz?!
Burgundy isn’t actually a town, but a region — many charming towns there, though, including Beaune! :-)
I have visited most of the town’s on your list (and spent a year in Colmar, decades ago, as an au-pair) but have bookmarked #1! Thank you!
Hey Lynn! I had to look up Beaune, so cute. I am so jealous you got to spend a whole year in Colmar! Sounds like the perfect job for someone who loves to travel. Thank you so much for reading along!!
Gorgeous photography! Makes me want to grab my passport STAT!
Thanks Darla!! France is just such a beautiful country! The small towns are so charming. :)
I enjoyed looking at these beautifull pictures. The map was the finest touch. I appreciate maps with travel pictures. I am anticipating looking at the other sets of travel you have visited and photographed. Thanks for a wonderful experience.
I am so glad you liked the maps. I should do that more often since the feedback as been so great. Thanks for reading Jane!
Honfleur, on the Normandy coast, is one of my favorites–but it’s so hard to choose because there are so many wonderful places in France. We just returned from a two-week driving trip throughout Normandy, focusing on Impressionist painting/painters, so Giverny, Rouen. Entretat, and Honfleur were on our list of must-sees. (Thanks for the maps with each city. So helpful!)
I am so glad you like the maps! We will have to do that on more of our posts. :) And wow, that trip you just took sounds incredible. We are going back to France this year so I will have to look into some of those other towns you mentioned. Thanks for the tips Anita!
Excellent blog post. I absolutely love this site. Keep writing!
Wow, thank you so much Robin! :)
Love this post, been to Annecy, such a beautiful idyllic place
Thank you so much Hanny! Annecy is pretty amazing!
Visited just one of those until now (Annecy). Nine more to go!
How did you like Annecy?! It looks like such a fairy tale land!
The pictures are stunning. The maps, great! I wish you’d actually write more about these charming towns, so your readers have some information to see which may appeal to us to actually visit. What did you find charming about each of these towns?
That is a great suggestion! This was actually one of the very first posts I ever published on my blog and let’s just say I had NO clue what I was doing. Haha. But I do need to go back and update these old posts with more helpful information, so thank you for the reminder Rebecca!
Excellent pics and picks! France has no shortage of charming small towns.
I know! It really doesn’t. I am discovering more every day to add to my list! Haha!
I discovered Vezelay with the wonderful 9th century Basilique! Beautiful countryside just 2 hours from Paris . Avalon is close by too and is wonderful to visit .
I lived in Poitiers for three full years, 1962-1964 (I was 9-11 years old). I never see it listed as a town to visit. Is there a reason for that?
It’s been almost 60 years since my family arrived there but the vivid memories make it seem like months ago. I wish I could revisit before I cease to exist but that’s highly unlikely. At least Poitiers will be with me to my end.
I don’t think a lot of people know about Poitiers. I had to look it up after you mentioned it because I had never heard of it. But wow is it a beautiful town! Sounds like you have amazing memories there. ❤️
Hello, for Rich Crank. what hold you back? Go! I meant it. I did for five weeks in France. Now, I’m planning to move to France.
Anyway, Claire, I like the list of towns. I almost plan to go colmar but not have time. i stayed in Strasbourg for while before head to St. Malo and Mont St. Michel.
We stayed a couple of nights in Eze. It’s unique and charming. No cars allowed.
Thank you for sharing, France has always been one of my travel pocket lists and these photos make me want to open the web and book my flight right away!