Les plus beaux villages de France et roses

This little village in the Oise, on the border between Normandy and Picardy, has more rose bushes than residents! It was at the start of the ^20th century that this passion for roses began, and it has never faded since…! When the painter Henri Le Sidaner arrived in Gerberoy in 1901, he fell under its spell and settled there, getting involved in the village’s restoration. He went on to create gardens – now classified as ‘Remarkable Gardens’ – on the ruins of the old castle, and encouraged the locals to plant rose bushes throughout the village, with the support of the local council, which planted them at the foot of public buildings. The Fête de la Rose, established in 1928, takes place every year on the first Sunday in June and attracts many visitors keen to breathe in the scent of the roses. It has now been over 90 years since Gerberoy has been organising this festival, which goes from strength to strength every year!

To get to Gerberoy from Paris, book your train ticket to Beauvais, then take bus route 43 (one per day) from the Brière coach station (less than a 5-minute walk from the railway station).

Yèvre-le-Châtel has a genuine passion for flowers, and particularly for the most famous of them all: the rose! Awarded the ‘4 Flowers’ label, the village boasts no fewer than 300 rose bushes, planted some forty years ago, and is one of the most beautiful stops on the Loiret Rose Route. Driven by the residents and local organisations, this passion likely has its roots in André Eve’s love of heirloom roses. This renowned rose breeder, breeder and collector established his garden in Pithiviers, just a few kilometres from Yèvre-le-Châtel, which prides itself on having lent its name to a rose variety (created, incidentally, by the André Eve Rose Society). As you stroll through the village streets to admire the many varieties of roses and let yourself be enchanted by their fragrance, be sure to stop off at the rose garden dedicated to Marcel Robichon, André Eve’s predecessor and the ‘creator’ of some forty rose hybrids...

At Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, we’re big fans of planting directly in the ground! And in Camon too! In 1995, the village council of this Ariège village decided to plant a rose bush in front of every house in the village, thereby supporting an initiative launched by a few residents. Since then, the rose has become the favourite flower of Camon, which boasts over 150 varieties. A rose garden was added to the village garden in 2010, at the foot of the viaduct, on the banks of the River Hers. And, of course, the whole village celebrates its roses on the third weekend in May, with a large fair and concerts taking place throughout the village. The Rose Festival in Camon is an event not to be missed!

You won’t be able to miss it when you visit the collegiate church in the heart of this Aveyron bastide. At its foot, on the site of a former cemetery that fell into disuse at the end of the 19th century, lies the rose garden of Sauveterre-de-Rouergue was created in 2010 by local residents, on the initiative of the painter Barthélémy – whose studio is located in the Espace Lapérouse in the heart of the village – and the singer Josy Mai-Andrieu. It features 140 climbing and shrub roses in shades of red, pink and yellow… As a testament to its former religious purpose, the rose garden still features a cross and a few sarcophagi, lending the place an atmosphere of contemplation and serenity...

Best known for its collegiate church at the crossroads of the routes to Santiago de Compostela, or for being the ‘village of cats’, La Romieu (Gers) is also home to over 500 rose bushes dotted along its narrow streets, not to mention those in private gardens or the unmissable Jardins de Coursiana – classified as a ‘Jardin Remarquable’ (Remarkable Garden). Since 1998, La Romieu has been organising its Rose Market in May, where numerous specialist nurserymen help the many visitors see life through “rose-tinted glasses” for a day. Whether old or modern varieties, enthusiasts leave with their favourite bloom.

Well, yes, you’ll also find plenty of rose bushes in Veules-les-Roses in Seine-Maritime, in the village streets and in the (private) gardens of the houses lining France’s smallest river. But although its name doesn’t suggest it, the village is better known for its watercress than for its roses. On 30 July 1897, however, the village added the suffix ‘les-Roses’ in place of ‘en-Caux’, which refers to the Pays de Caux region. No doubt a bit of promotional flair to attract visitors to this small, bourgeois seaside resort in the late 19th century… But between you and me, it suits it rather well, doesn’t it?

To get to Veules-les-Roses from Rouen, book a train to Dieppe, then take bus route 61 (Nomad coaches).