In this FREE le Bulletin we're meeting a new MyFrenchLife Magazine Contributor as we immerse ourselves in a new series: the most beautiful villages in France. Also we enjoy meeting an artist & a poet.
Hi @David Gemeinhardt. Yes, while putting my precious villes moyennes on the back burner, I've been secretly poking around some villages for a change. It was fun to research those LPBVF statistics and find out how concentrated they are in a few regions.
Hi Susan! La Roque Gageac is gorgeous and I've been there several times. St Cirq Lapopie is not all that far from where I live, but I have yet to get there...of course I will someday! The latter is very crowded in the summer, so I'll definitely go off-season. Have you been to France recently?
I was in France last September but no longer travel around the country due to age (mine). Instead, my sister and I take a yearly trip to Paris for a month and often take a few day trips to nearby places.
Congrats to Betty contributing! Her substack is great. There are so many favorite villages of mine but I'm incapable of remembering which ones are in the list...
bonjour Lorraine, lovely to hear from you. Yes I too am pleased to have Betty presentng this new mini-series... some readers are already trying to guess which villages will be covered... an enormously difficult task ;)
There are so many underrated towns and villages in France, I believe that Betty will be able to write about them forever!
Hi Lorraine! This has been a fun new project for the late-fall/winter months. I never used to think about the LPBVF label that much, but since Aveyron became the département with the most, it's been all over the local press. That was actually my inspiration for the series.
Driving north from Bordeaux and having ticked off the necessary vineyard and wine villages we were getting anxious as we needed a place to say. I consulted the Atlas and found a good green lined lane off to the right and several miles later was greeted by a groan of angst from the coDriver oh no this is one of Les plus beaux villages….
Why so horrified I asked “it will cost twice as much to stay here.
Well it did as I dedicated a bit of extra funds to a hotel with a swimming pool and a meal next to the pool after the swim.
Interesting! I've never stayed in a hotel in a LPBVF and hadn't thought of that aspect. Prices probably do go up during the high season. Mind you, some of the smaller LPBVF don't even have a hotel. Which village did you stay in?
Do you know I have absolutely no idea what the village was called and it is located somewhere that cannot be retrieved like it was part of a fairy tale journey, and Puss in Boots showed the sign to me when I asked where I was!
Betty!! I am so excited to see your name linked with Le Bulletin...! And of course, LPBVDF, what a topic - I wish I could join you ! At least for those in the Aveyron...
I'm trying to decide on a favourite and I can't... they are all so extraordinarily beautiful its impossible but the first I set foot in was Conques on a misty morning in October 2004 when we came on a house hunting trip (there weren't too many tourists at that time of year) I don't think I will ever forget the magic of that day - it certainly decided me on the department I wanted to live in!
Judy, Thank you for adding Betty as another of your fabulous contributors, I am delighted to see her here and especially on such a great topic which she is so adept at drawing us all into! 💫🙏🏼
@Susie Mawhinney Thank you for your lovely comment. One could definitely do worse than visiting or re-visiting all of the LPBVF in Aveyron. Conques is of course the queen of them all, but it's such a nightmare in the summer. I had been there several times off-season and then took my sister and her family there in July 2000 -- it was hot, absolutely packed with tourists, and she hated every minute! I have a soft spot in my heart for Sainte-Eulalie-d'Olt, which is not that far from my house and not so overrun during tourist season. But I think on the balance, my favorite is Estaing.
That is funny. I remember going but don’t remember hating it! I guess my memory is fuzzy after 24 years. But yes, if it was really hot, that would have impacted my opinion!
Well I think it was partly the heat, but also the tons of people made you feel kind of claustrophobic. I remember your not being a happy camper, and I was also disappointed with the experience, having only been there before off-season. Sainte-Eulalie d'Olt and Estaing, that I mentioned in my comment to Susie above, were better experiences!
Great to find Betty here. To judge by France in Between, you couldn't have found a better guide to out of the way villages.
Yes it will be a wonderful mini-series!
Hi @David Gemeinhardt. Yes, while putting my precious villes moyennes on the back burner, I've been secretly poking around some villages for a change. It was fun to research those LPBVF statistics and find out how concentrated they are in a few regions.
I've been to several of Les Beaux Villages but my favorite is La Roque Gageac followed by St Cirq la Popie.
Hi Susan! La Roque Gageac is gorgeous and I've been there several times. St Cirq Lapopie is not all that far from where I live, but I have yet to get there...of course I will someday! The latter is very crowded in the summer, so I'll definitely go off-season. Have you been to France recently?
I was in France last September but no longer travel around the country due to age (mine). Instead, my sister and I take a yearly trip to Paris for a month and often take a few day trips to nearby places.
A yearly trip to Paris for a month sounds like heaven to me! It gives you time to really feel at home there, and there are many great day trips to do.
Betty will be writing about three new entries. Anyone interesting in trying to guess which villages they’ll be??? ;)
Thanks Gary
Congrats to Betty contributing! Her substack is great. There are so many favorite villages of mine but I'm incapable of remembering which ones are in the list...
bonjour Lorraine, lovely to hear from you. Yes I too am pleased to have Betty presentng this new mini-series... some readers are already trying to guess which villages will be covered... an enormously difficult task ;)
There are so many underrated towns and villages in France, I believe that Betty will be able to write about them forever!
Judy
Judy, that is indeed my plan!
Hi Lorraine! This has been a fun new project for the late-fall/winter months. I never used to think about the LPBVF label that much, but since Aveyron became the département with the most, it's been all over the local press. That was actually my inspiration for the series.
Driving north from Bordeaux and having ticked off the necessary vineyard and wine villages we were getting anxious as we needed a place to say. I consulted the Atlas and found a good green lined lane off to the right and several miles later was greeted by a groan of angst from the coDriver oh no this is one of Les plus beaux villages….
Why so horrified I asked “it will cost twice as much to stay here.
Well it did as I dedicated a bit of extra funds to a hotel with a swimming pool and a meal next to the pool after the swim.
Bliss.
Interesting! I've never stayed in a hotel in a LPBVF and hadn't thought of that aspect. Prices probably do go up during the high season. Mind you, some of the smaller LPBVF don't even have a hotel. Which village did you stay in?
Do you know I have absolutely no idea what the village was called and it is located somewhere that cannot be retrieved like it was part of a fairy tale journey, and Puss in Boots showed the sign to me when I asked where I was!
Betty!! I am so excited to see your name linked with Le Bulletin...! And of course, LPBVDF, what a topic - I wish I could join you ! At least for those in the Aveyron...
I'm trying to decide on a favourite and I can't... they are all so extraordinarily beautiful its impossible but the first I set foot in was Conques on a misty morning in October 2004 when we came on a house hunting trip (there weren't too many tourists at that time of year) I don't think I will ever forget the magic of that day - it certainly decided me on the department I wanted to live in!
Judy, Thank you for adding Betty as another of your fabulous contributors, I am delighted to see her here and especially on such a great topic which she is so adept at drawing us all into! 💫🙏🏼
@Susie Mawhinney Thank you for your lovely comment. One could definitely do worse than visiting or re-visiting all of the LPBVF in Aveyron. Conques is of course the queen of them all, but it's such a nightmare in the summer. I had been there several times off-season and then took my sister and her family there in July 2000 -- it was hot, absolutely packed with tourists, and she hated every minute! I have a soft spot in my heart for Sainte-Eulalie-d'Olt, which is not that far from my house and not so overrun during tourist season. But I think on the balance, my favorite is Estaing.
That is funny. I remember going but don’t remember hating it! I guess my memory is fuzzy after 24 years. But yes, if it was really hot, that would have impacted my opinion!
Well I think it was partly the heat, but also the tons of people made you feel kind of claustrophobic. I remember your not being a happy camper, and I was also disappointed with the experience, having only been there before off-season. Sainte-Eulalie d'Olt and Estaing, that I mentioned in my comment to Susie above, were better experiences!