page_title: Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
section_title: Midi-Pyrénées
hierarchical_section_title: Les Plus Beaux Villages de France / List / Midi-Pyrénées
caption_attribution_description: English: Belcastel, Aveyron, FRANCE Français&#160;: Belcastel, Aveyron, FRANCE
context_page_description: Les Plus Beaux Villages de France is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of the tourist appeal of small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage. As of September 2016, it numbers 156 member villages.
  Membership requires meeting certain selection criteria and offers a strategy for development and promotion to tourists. The three initial selection criteria are the rural nature of the village, the presence of at least two national heritage sites and local support in the form of a vote by the council. Each village must pay an annual fee to the association and the mayor must sign the association’s Quality Charter. If the village fails to meet the requirements of the charter it may be excluded.
  The association claims membership can bring a rise of between 10 and 50% in visitor numbers.
  The southern departments of the Dordogne and Aveyron have the most number of member villages, with ten in each. They are followed by Vaucluse, with seven, and Lot, with six.
  Following the success of the French certification, similar associations have been formed in Wallonia, Quebec, Italy, Spain and Japan.
context_section_description: Ariège
  Camon
  Saint-Lizier
  Aveyron
  Belcastel
  Brousse-le-Château
  Conques
  La Couvertoirade
  Estaing
  Najac
  Peyre (commune of Comprégnac)
  Saint-Côme-d'Olt
  Sainte-Eulalie-d'Olt
  Sauveterre-de-Rouergue
  Haute-Garonne
  Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges
  Gers
  Fourcès
  Larressingle
  Montréal-du-Gers
  Sarrant
  Lot
  Autoire
  Capdenac
  Cardaillac
  Carennac
  Loubressac
  Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
  Tarn
  Castelnau-de-Montmiral
  Lautrec
  Monestiés
  Puycelci-Grésigne
  Tarn-et-Garonne
  Auvillar
  Bruniquel
  Lauzerte
caption: Belcastel
exif: {}