An amazing medieval town in France

Posted 21 days ago, helping 245 travelers with their trips

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The day of our trip to Pérouges turned out to be rainy. At first, it seemed unpleasant, but later the weather turned out to be an advantage—there were no people on the streets! This made the town feel even more unique! (Well, it turned out that everyone was in the little restaurant on the square.) How to get there: From Lyon, take a train from the Part-Dieu station to Meximieux-Pérouges. Once you arrive, follow the map to the town. Google Maps offers two routes, both are good (we took one route there and the other back), and the walk takes about 20–30 minutes. A bit of history: Pérouges was presumably founded by a colony of Gauls returning from the city of Perugia in Italy. In 1601, the town officially became part of France. It is said to hold the status of "the most beautiful village in France" among other beautiful villages—but this is not certain. Today, it is a popular spot for tourists and filmmakers, with a population of about 1,300 people. Yes, people actually live there! However, we didn’t see anyone on the streets, only the staff in the restaurant, though there were parked cars and fresh bread in the windows—so there’s definitely demand! The town has a museum, but unfortunately, we didn’t visit it. We did go into the local church, where we encountered some locals—children, to be precise. A group of young schoolchildren, led by their teacher, was finishing up some activity and cheerfully left the church. The church is very old but equipped with modern technology—check out the photos and payment methods. We visited for just one day, and it was enough time to leisurely explore all the nooks and crannies. If the sun had been shining, we might have strolled more slowly, but it’s definitely a one-day trip. I really enjoyed it, and if we ever stay in Lyon for a couple of days again, we’ll definitely visit Pérouges in good weather!