France 2, a French TV channel held a competition to discover the village in France that the French love best – and the winner was Saint-Cirq Lapopie.
In 2012, this lovely village was chosen from twenty-two townships shortlisted for the contest and is to be found in the Lot, Midi-Pyrénées, South-west France.
France 2 describes Saint-Cirq as “beauty hanging from a cliff” and said that voters were impressed by its breathtaking scenery, authentic architecture and narrow cobbled streets. Ruins of ancient chateaux, a dozen or so listed buildings and the town planners policy of hiding modern intrusions such as electricity cables and phone lines give the place an air of timeless grace. There is a Gothic church dominating the town and the scene of cascading roofs of brown tiles, picturesque half-timbered houses made Saint-Cirq a clear winner.
With just over 200 residents the town already notches up some 400,000 tourists each summer drawn to its quaint streets to enjoy the beauty – after almost 66,000 votes and its accolade as France’s favourite village – the inhabitants are gearing up for a bumper summer.
