Pérouges Perouges Ain Lyon Rhone Rhone-Alpes France Medieval

Visit medieval Pérouges – one of France’s official “Most Beautiful Villages”

Once you get to Lyon, the gravitational pull of that great city can make you want to settle in for a while – but let me encourage you to save a day for the 40-minute drive out of town to Pérouges.  This medieval gem may already be familiar to you from movies you’ve seen, but it’s worth exploring on its own as one of France’s official “most beautiful villages.” I’ll admit that the timing for our first trip to Pérouges  18 years ago was not the most sensible: we went in February.  The temperature had dropped to around -100 C (14 F), and our breath hung in clouds of ice crystals as we wrestled our suitcases into the hotel room.  […]