Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France") is an independent association, created in 1982, which aims to promote assets of small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. As of 2008, 152 villages in France have been labelled as the "Plus Beaux Villages de France".
There are a few criteria before entering the association: the population of the village must not exceed 2,000 inhabitants, there must be at least 2 protected areas (picturesque or legendary sites, or sites of scientific, artistic or historic interest), and the decision to candidate must be taken by the town council.
Similar associations have been set up in Belgium (Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie), Quebec (Les Plus Beaux Villages du Québec) and Italy (I Borghi Piu Belli d'Italia).
