An insider’s tour of France’s most beloved and beautiful villages uncovers the country’s hidden treasures. The Best Loved Villages of France brings the reader on a tour of forty-four of the country’s most treasured destinations. Always picturesque, but often well-kept secrets, the book offers insight into village life and local history. Take a tour of a crumbling medieval fortress with the mayor of Lavardin or peruse the maritime objects found at sea by a mustached fisherman in Saint-Suliac. Stroll along the coast of the Wissant bay windsurfer’s paradise or promenade through the manicured grounds of Vaux-le-Vicomte. Watch the sunrise over the fairy-tale castle in Montsoreau or enjoy a fresh langoustine dinner in Piana, Corsica. This book offers an illustrated tour around all twenty-two regions of France, from Provence and the Alps, to Normandy and the Loire. Aerial and intimate photographs invite the reader to explore these splendid locales, while the descriptions, anecdotes, and interviews with local village-dwellers plunge you into the individual history and character of France’s diverse regions. The villages featured in the book were selected in a popular vote by the French public and they represent an authentic journey into the heart of France.

The Automobile Association of England provides travelers interested in out-of-the-way villages of France a region-by-region exploration of over 300 villages. From sleepy fishing villages to hidden villages of the Alps and Corsica, they tell you were to go, what to see, what to look out for, fascinating regional features, and more. Full-color photographs and maps throughout.

Examines the role of village notables in nineteenth-century France.

'Based on eye-witness accounts, Robert Pike's moving book vividly depicts the lives of the villagers who were caught up in the tragedy of Oradour-sur-Glane and brings their experiences to our attention for the first time.' - Hanna Diamond, author of Fleeing Hitler On 10 June 1944, four days after Allied forces landed in Normandy, the picturesque village of Oradour-sur-Glane in the rural heart of France was destroyed by an armoured SS Panzer division. Six hundred and forty-three men, women and children were murdered in the nation's worst wartime atrocity. Today, Oradour is remembered as a 'martyred village' and its ruins are preserved, but the stories of its inhabitants lie buried under the rubble of the intervening decades. Silent Village gathers the powerful testimonies of survivors in the first account of Oradour as it was both before the tragedy and in its aftermath. A lost way of life is vividly recollected in this unique insight into the traditions, loves and rivalries of a typical village in occupied France. Why this peaceful community was chosen for extermination has remained a mystery. Putting aside contemporary hearsay, Nazi rhetoric and revisionist theories, in this updated third edition Robert Pike returns to the archival evidence to narrate the tragedy as it truly happened – and give voice to the anguish of those left behind.

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP FIVE BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2014 From the author of the New York Times bestseller A Train in Winter comes the extraordinary story of a French village that helped save thousands who were pursued by the Gestapo during World War II. High up in the mountains of the southern Massif Central in France lies a cluster of tiny, remote villages united by a long and particular history. During the Nazi occupation, the inhabitants of the Plateau Vivarais Lignon saved several thousand people from the concentration camps. As the victims of Nazi persecution flooded in – resisters, freemasons, communists and Jews, many of them children – the villagers united to keep them safe. The story of why and how these villages came to save so many people has never been fully told. But several of the remarkable architects of the mission are still alive, as are a number of those they saved. Caroline Moorehead has sought out and interviewed many of the people involved in this extraordinary undertaking, and brings us their unforgettable testimonies. It is a story of courage and determination, of a small number of heroic individuals who risked their lives to save others, and of what can be done when people come together to oppose tyranny.

In this fully updated new edition, discover the 159 most picturesque French villages, with a dozen walking itineraries ranging from 45-minute strolls to extended pilgrimages. From the medieval fortress of Montrésor in the Loire to the hilltop village of Gordes in the Luberon, this illustrated guide unveils the beauty of rural France, providing complete visitor's information for these exceptionally preserved destinations. A brief history of each village is accompanied by recommendations for sightseeing, accommodation options ranging from hotels to campsites, plus restaurants, markets, artisanal produce, and local specialties. Suggested leisure activities encompass festivals, events, and excursions to explore the region on foot, by canoe, or on horseback. An eight-page supplement in this revised edition features walking itineraries through and around the picturesque villages: traverse charming medieval Saint-Amand-de-Coly in under an hour, spend a long weekend in the Land of a Thousand Lakes, or embark on a leg of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage--there are options for every ability level.