Road Trips

Villages Étapes: Lovely Stopovers for your French Road Trips

08/07/2022

Article written by Elisa - Travel Writer & Local in France
This article may contain compensated links. Please read disclaimer for more info.

Road trips in France are a great way to explore the country, from the main cities to remote villages and natural sites. Driving in France is easy, and with a car, some good tunes, and the best company, you are set for one of the most memorable adventures in your life.  

While you are driving long distances across France, you will need to take some breaks to rest, eat or stretch your legs. Instead of stopping at boring motor services, you can make your journey much more interesting by stopping at a Village Étape.

If you have never heard about the Villages Étapes, go on reading: you’ll love the concept and make your French road trips more enjoyable.

Uzerche - Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Uzerche, near A20 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine

What is a Village Etape?

Dol-de-Bretagne, near RN176 in Brittany

Just like the Plus Beaux Villages or the Petites Cités de Caractère, a Village Etape is another quality label in France. Villages Etape could be translated as “Stopover Villages” and the concept is very simple: located less than 5 minutes from a national road or a free motorway, the Villages Etape offer all the shops and services necessary for your breaks on the road in a much more picturesque atmosphere.

To be awarded this label, these Villages Etapes –  lovely villages of less than 5,000 inhabitants – also must meet other important criteria like sustainable development and a program to embellish their living environment in terms of flowering and landscaping.

Because these villages do not only aim to cover the road trippers’ basic services, they also have a tourist information point and provide hiking trails or walking itineraries to discover their heritage.

To ensure the quality standards over the years, this quality label is renewed every five years.

Here’s the kind of services you can expect from any Village Etape:

  • Traditional restaurants
  • Quality hotel and bed & breakfast accommodation and /or camping
  • Bakery, food shops
  • Pharmacy, garage, ATM
  • Picnic area, playground areas
  • Shady parking spaces.

In these villages, we should expect usual business hours for services like restaurants, shops or bakeries. This is the only inconvenience compared to the classic service areas with longer business hours.

How to Find the Villages Etapes?

La Rochefoucauld and its château, near RN141 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine

This article comes with the list and a map of all the Villages Etapes in France. While working on your road trip itinerary, have a look at this Villages Etapes map to see if any of these villages are along your route and plan your necessary breaks around them.

When you are on the road, the Villages Etapes are signposted from the motorways, along with the facilities they offer, and the turn-off to take for a Village Etape is clearly marked. These panels don’t show the distance from the motorway turn-off to the village, but you can expect less than five kilometers.

Villages Etapes List & Map

Church of Sainte Mère Église
Sainte-Mère-Église, near RN13 in Normandie

Here’s the list and the map of the Villages Etapes by French region and by French department. Between parenthesis, there’s the name of the closest road for each of them. The Villages Etapes cover 9 French Regions, 31 departments, and 36 main roads. You won’t find many famous names on this Villages Etapes list, but we assure you they are all lovely!

AUVERGNE RHONE-ALPES

Allier

  • Dompierre-sur-Besbre (RN79)
  • Lapalisse (RN7)
  • Montmarault (RN79)
  • Varennes-sur-Allier (RN7)

Isère

  • La Mure (RN85)

Savoie

  • Moûtiers (RN90)

BOURGOGNE-FRANCHE COMTÉ

Nièvre

  • Pougues-les-Eaux (A77)

Saône et Loire

  • Charolles (RN79)

BRETAGNE

Côtes d’Armor

  • Belle-Isle-en-Terre (RN12)
  • Broons (RN12)
  • Jugon-les-Lacs (RN176)
  • Merdrignac (RN164)

Finistère

  • Saint-Thégonnec (RN12)

Ile-et-Vilaine

  • Bédée (RN12)
  • Châteaubourg (RN157)
  • Crevin (RN137)
  • Dol-de-Bretagne (RN176)
  • Grand-Fougeray (RN137)
  • Plélan-le-Grand (RN24)
  • Saint-Brice-en-Coglès (A84)
  • Saint-Méen-le-Grand (RN164)

Morbihan

  • Elven (RN166)
  • Josselin (RN24)
  • Muzillac (RN165)

CENTRE VAL DE LOIRE

Eure-et-Loir

  • Cloyes-sur-le-Loir (RN10)

Indre

  • Éguzon (A20)
  • Vatan (A20)

GRAND EST

Ardennes

  • Launois-sur-Vence /Poix-Terron (A34)
  • Rocroi (RN51 – A304)

Haute-Marne

  • Joinville (RN67)

Meuse

  • Ligny-en-Barrois (RN4)

Vosges

  • Plombières-les-Bains (RN57)

NORMANDIE

Calvados

  • Villers-Bocage (A84)

Manche

  • Ducey (A84)
  • Sainte-Mère-Église (RN13)
  • Torigni-sur-Vire (A84)
  • Villedieu-les-Poêles (A84)

Orne

  • Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe (RN12)
  • Tourouvre (RN12)

Seine Maritime

  • Neufchâtel-en-Bray (A28)

NOUVELLE AQUITAINE

Charente

  • Barbezieux-St-Hilaire (RN10)
  • Chabanais (RN141)
  • Jarnac (RN141)
  • La Rochefoucauld (RN141)
  • Mansle (RN10)

Corrèze

  • Donzenac (A20)
  • Uzerche (A20)
  • Creuse Gouzon (RN145)
  • La Souterraine (RN145)

Deux-Sèvres

  • Mauléon (RN249)

Haute-Vienne

  • Bellac (RN147)
  • Bessines-sur-Gartempe (A20)
  • Magnac-Bourg (A20)
  • Pierre-Buffière (A20)

Vienne

  • Vivonne (RN10)
  • Vouillé (RN149)

OCCITANIE

Aveyron

  • Baraqueville (RN88)
  • Laissac (RN88)
  • Naucelle (RN88)

Hérault

  • Le Caylar (A75)

Lozère

  • Aumont-Aubrac (A75)
  • Florac (RN106)
  • La Canourgue (A75)

Tarn

  • Brens (A68)

PROVENCE ALPES COTE D’AZUR

Hautes-Alpes

  • Chorges (RN94)
  • Guillestre (RN94)
  • L’Argentière-la-Bessée (RN94)

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