A Provence gem, a family skiing favourite, and an Alsace Wine Route hotspot are the top three most welcoming towns in France, a new ranking has found.
Online reservation site Booking.com compiled the top 10 ranking - The World’s Most Welcoming Cities for 2025 - based on scores left by 360 million guests who stayed in the locations after booking a trip on the site.
To qualify for the list, each site had to have at least 50 accommodation options that had an average guest score of at least 8.0 out of 10, based on at least three reviews, by November 30, 2024.
A small town of just 1,300 residents, this site is prized among tourists for its famous ochre cliffs. It is located within the natural regional park of Luberon, but is also just 90 minutes’ drive from Marseille.
2. Arcs 1950 (Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)
Les Arcs 1950Jack Koning Photography/Shutterstock
A beautiful Alpine village with traditional buildings and family-friendly slopes, as well as high-end ski-in-, ski-out accommodation. Also offers a fun zipline, many options for ski lessons, and snowshoe walking routes.
3. Riquewihr (Haut-Rhin, Grand Est)
Riquewihr, AlsaceDaLiu/Shutterstock
A medieval town with many traditional, colourful buildings and attractions for tourists, including a 14th century former prison. Located on the Alsace Wine Route, it also has many winemaker shops and tasting events for keen wine lovers.
Another traditional Alsatian village, Eguisheim has many brightly-painted buildings, half-timbered houses, and even its very own centuries-old castle and ruins. It is also the site of three Alsace Grand Cru vineyards.
Heading back down south, the Provençal town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is known for its colourful weekend markets, art centre, and vintage toy museum. It also has an impressive Baroque church, and picturesque river water wheels.
6. Kaysersberg (Haut-Rhin, Grand Est)
Kaysersberg in AlsaceDaLiu/Shutterstock
A former fortress town, this Alsace gem is now much more open and is another stop on the Alsace Wine Route, specialising in pinot gris varieties. It also has its own castle ruins, and a church that dates back to the 13th century.
7. Bédoin (Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)
Bedoin, VaucluseStudioPortoSabbia/Shutterstock
Located on a beautiful Provence mountainside, this town is the starting point of one of three routes to summit the Mont Ventoux mountain, one of the most formidable climbing challenges on the Tour de France. Cycling culture is strong in the town, but there is also a large Spanish-style church.
Another pretty Provence commune, this village is home to an archeological site, as well as its own chateau, and is close to the Alpilles natural regional park. Troubled-but-iconic artist Vincent Van Gogh was hospitalised in its asylum from 1889-1890; he painted the famous Starry Night here.
9. Aigues-Mortes (Gard, Occitanie)
Aigues-Mortes in OccitaniePicturereflex/Shutterstock
This Camargue town is rare in that it still has most of its old medieval walls surrounding it, showcasing its historical importance as a Mediterranean canal port, and its history as a key crusade town. Its rather morbid name comes from its surroundings of marsh and pond water (‘stagnant’ or ‘dead’ water), from the Latin Aquae Mortuae.
10. Saint-Emilion (Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Saint-Emilion in GirondeAlexey Fedorenko/Shutterstock
Famous for its wine, this town is in a favoured spot between Bordeaux, Saintonge, and Périgord, and was - along with its vineyards - made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, due to its tradition of winemaking, its Romanesque churches, and historical streets.
Outside of France
Overall, the ranking put UNESCO World Heritage Site Sigiriya in Sri Lanka at number one, followed by the picturesque town of Cazorla in Spain in second place, and rugged-but-scenic hideaway Urubici, in Brazil in third.
