This Medieval Town Was Named France's Favorite Village-and It's One of the Most Beautiful Places in the Country

"Located South of Lyon in the Isère départment among the rolling peaks of the Chambaran mountains, is the little village of Saint-Antoine-l'Abbay. The commune is rich in French religious and cultural heritage, and a visit here truly feels as if you're stepping back in time, with its charming cobbled pedestrian streets and centuries-old stone houses. At the heart of it all is the medieval abbey that gives Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye its name."

""Saint-Antoine is a tiny little village lost between the mountains and the countryside," Maryline Longis, mayor of the village, tells Travel + Leisure. Formerly known as La-Motte-Saint-Didier, the village took the name Saint-Antoine in the 11th century, when the relics of Saint Anthony the Great were brought to it from Constantinople. Soon after, the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony, a monastic order founded to care of people suffering from "St. Anthony's Fire" (aka ergotism) using the relics."

""The village of Saint-Antoine was a major medical and religious center, one that truly combined faith, science, and hospitality," says Longis. "This history has profoundly shaped the identity of the village, and we have preserved not only the landscapes but that sense of warmth and hospitality. Our guiding principle in the village is really about welcoming visitors well."

Le Village Préféré des Français is an annual contest since 2012 that crowns a favorite French village and features the winner on a nationwide television show. Past winners include Saint-Cirq Lapopie, Rochefort-en-Terre, Hunspach, and Collioure. Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye sits south of Lyon in the Isère département amid the Chambaran mountains and offers cobbled pedestrian streets, centuries-old stone houses, and a central medieval abbey. The village adopted the Saint-Antoine name in the 11th century when relics of Saint Anthony the Great arrived from Constantinople, leading to the arrival of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony who cared for ergotism sufferers. Warm hospitality remains central to the village identity.

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