Our travels are always about variety… On the one hand, we are fascinated with huge, vibrant metropolis like Hong Kong, Bangkok or Singapore, and on the other hand, we love small mountain villages, empty beaches and the silence of Polish lakes in Suwałki Region. In each of those places we find reasons for us to be, to come back, to be amazed again. However, small towns always have a special spot in our hearts. You know them, right? Charming, calm, with narrow streets, tiny shops and squares, where you just want to stop and sit down with your coffee and a cake. Towns in which every street, every stone, every corner just needs to be photographed, and you stop every second, cause they’re so beautiful and charming… We love such places and we always have them on our routes. You will find them on Malta, in Italy and in Greece. However, lately we’ve been loving the ones in France. There are a lot of them! We chose our favorite ones out of those we’ve seen in the last couple of years, but today we know that more of them is awaiting us! So if you have your favorite French hits, let us know! 🙂 You need to check ours, though. We guarantee you’ll be enchanted!
11 FRENCH SMALL TOWNS YOU NEED TO SEE:
1) HONFLEUR
I had to start with Honfleur because it has a special spot in our hearts. I think it’s the first French town that we’ve ever loved so much! It’s also one of the first places we’ve visited with 2,5 months old Maks. During that first trip the weather wasn’t very good – it was pretty cold, it was raining, but Honfleur was still amazing. Picturesque harbor, small streets, brasseries where you’ll eat mussels, pancakes and seafood, and shops with calvados produced nearby. On Saturday mornings it’s best to go to the local fair with fish, seafood and French cheeses.
Every year, Honfleur is visited by up to 3,5 million tourists. In the 19th century the town was popular amongst Impressionist painters. Claude Monet was one of those making art here. You can also look at it as at a basis for your trips around the neighbourhood – there are Trouville-Sur-Mer and Deauville nearby.
2) MONT SAINT MICHEL
Mont Saint-Michel in southwest Normandy will make you facinated with its localisation: it’s a beautiful abbey on a picturesque island, looking as if it was taken out of a medieval scenery. It looks mysterious and a little bit dark. The island is connected with land by 2 kilometers long dyke and the neighbourhood changes depending on water level and on sea tides. Sometimes the abbey looks as if it was growing straight out of the water.
After you enter the town, you will see a lot of restaurants and souvenir shops for tourists – Mont Saint-Michel is one of the most visited tourist attractions in France.
3) DINAN
When we were exploring the north of France in 2011, Dinan in Brittany was one of those places that we remembered the best. Old, rock houses, streets paved with cobblestones, magical, romantic, fairy tale mood. And even though Dinan is pretty big compared to other places on our list (about 11 thousand residents), there is no climat or intimate mood missing here.
We still recall our lazy walks across local streets even though it wasn’t easy to do – we had a buggy with a gondola (we were travelling with a baby!), and here we had to fight cobblestons and frequent acclivities 😉 But we would always get our prize at the end – a snack in out of the local boulangeries and delicious French treats! I always recall them when we go to the French PAUL in Warsaw.
4) EZE
Èze is our newest French fascination!!! After 3 days in Nice and its neighbourhood, on Thursday, right before out flight back, we visited eze. At first, we went to the Fragonard perfume and soap factory (it’s very impressive, especially since you can design your own scent!), and then we went to see the town. Once again we saw these small streets, charming corners and old houses, but the best is what you will find on top of the Eze mountain – a beautiful, exotic garden (Jardin botanique d’Èze), from which you will have breathtaking view over the French Riviera – just look at our main picture!
Amazing Èze is made out of two parts – down is the Èze-sur-Mer, where the train to Nice goes, and about 430 meters higher there is Èze-Village, which impressed us so much! The two are connected with so-called Nietzsche’s Path. If you ever go to the French Riviera, you need to come here!
5) SAINT PAUL DE VENCE
Another wonderment from our trip to Nice from before 2 weeks! Another small town with a beautiful view… it’s best to look at it from far away first and then walk it’s streets, sit down in a restaurant with a view over the neighbourhood or play typical petanque on some square – they say it’s a game for seniors, but Łukasz had a lot of fun.
If you want to walk through Saint Paul de Vence, it’s best to do that in the early evening – around 7 PM crowds of tourists disappear from the streets and you will only see some individuals and cats on their lazy walks.
6) LYONS-LA-FORET
Tiny Lyons-la-Foret can be found in the Upper Normandy. Characteristic buildings from the 17th century with wooden inserts and stylish carports give the town a unique climat.
If you come here after lunch, the town will be empty, quiet and calm. It’s a great place for a walk and getting some relax during your visit to Normandy.
7) LES BAUX-DE-PROVENCE
The only small town on that list that I’ve never visited!!! Łukasz did. Unluckily, I didn’t make it to Provence and its gem, Les Baux-de-Provence last spring. The town has several hundred residents and it’s located amongst stones. It’s surrounded by beautiful views and rock streets. It’s thought to be one of the most picturesque small towns in France for a reason! Just like Saint Paul de Vence, it needs to be seen both from far away and from no distance – you need to walk its streets, go to its stores and buy lavender soap 🙂
8) AINHOA
Ainhoa is French Basque Country. I love it with my whole heart because during my studies at university, I spent a few months in Bilbao and San Sebastian, which is Spanish Basque Country. Ainhoa is often said to be the most beautiful Basque village, at least on the French side. Characteristic white houses, red window frames and the green of nearby hills make you want to stay there way longer.
Ainhoa is located only 3 kilometers from the Spanish border, so it’s a great place for your stop if you’re going to Spain by the French coast like us.
9) ETRETAT
Etretat is another place worth seeing in Normandy. Take a tourist train for a short trip to get an amazing view ver the town, beach and seaside cliffs. Once you’re done with sightseeing, you should stop in one of local restaurants and order a pot of mussels in Provençal, wine or camembert sauce. For dessert, you have to eat a French treat, which is crepes with chocolate. They’re different from our pancakes – bigger and thinner. You can taste those French ones on Świętokrzyska Street in Warsaw’s PAUL. Lets us know whether they taste like the ones in France! 😉
10) SAINT – EMILION
When you hear Saint-Emilion, you think WINE!!! 🙂 This time it’s not about the town (which is just as charming as the other ones!), but about its neighbourhood too. Sain-Emilion is kilometers of vineyards, picturesque old walls and a chance to sleep in one of the old chateaus. We stayed there one night during our trip across France – we still remember the morning with a beautiful view over green vineyards!
Since 1999, the town and its neighbourhood has been on the World Heritage Site.
11) ILE D’OLERON
A place different than others. There are no old walls, charming corners and beautiful squares in here, but you will find a lot of colorful Mexican houses and a lot of oysters here, because Ile d’Oleron is an oyster island!
If you like oysters, you need to come here! You will get oysters straight from small water ponds on a plastic plate and you will it eat by a provisional table. Believe me – they will taste fabulous!
Which small towns have you visited? What do you recommend? What French gems fascinated you?? Let us know!:) We have a few places close to Toulouse on our list of spots to visit… maybe in spring next years?:)
*this post was created in the cooperation with PAUL
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