Auvergne boasts 11 villages ranking among the "most beautiful in France" for the quality of their heritage, history, sites and monuments. www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org

Arlempdes - Haute-Loire
Arlempdes, a scenic village nestling in the hollow of a rocky spur crowned by a proud looking castle, straddles the Velay and Vivarais regions in the heart of steep, deep gorges overlooking a bend of the young Loire. The castle, strategically located at the crossroads of the two regions, became one of the area's main defensive sites and the first fortress overlooking the Loire. The village is outstanding because of its beauty, setting and history. Stroll the narrow streets to discover the 11th-century Romanesque church and its comb bell-tower, the castle (a listed historic monument since 1926), remains of the fortified wall and a fine 15th century stone cross.

Charroux - Allier
In the Middle Ages, Charroux was a fortified town and a major trade crossroads. Evocative street names, such as the 'rues de la poulaillerie' (Chicken Coop Street), 'la corderie' (Rope-Makers'), 'tanneurs' (Tanners') and 'fours à chaux' (Lime Kilns), evoke bustling past. Physical traces of that period in Charroux include 15th- to 18th-century sculpted stone façades, a remarkably preserved 14th-century half-timbered corbelled house, an exceptional number of wells and a circular street plan reminding tourists of its past as a fortified town.

Montpeyroux - Puy-de-Dôme
Charroux Montpeyroux is a fortified village in the Puy-de-Dôme clinging to a hill side overlooking the River Allier. At first it was called mons petrosus, Latin for "stony mount", because of the nearby quarries of arkose, very sturdy sandstone that was used to construct farm houses, churches and other buildings in the area. A medieval porch opens out onto pleasant little streets winding their way through the village to the three-storey 13th-century keep crowned by a crenulated platform offering beautiful views. Today, carefully restored houses with wine cellars recalling Montpeyroux's winemaking past are home to painters, potters and other kinds of craftsmen. Montpeyroux was also a town of stone-cutters.

Salers - Cantal
Charroux Salers was the chief bailiwick of the high mountains of Auvergne in the 16th century, when most of its heritage was built. The village's profile still bristles with wonderfully preserved flamboyant gothic lava stone towers, doorways and turrets.

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