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Alsace Wine Route

Most Beautiful Villages of France (and "Village préféré")

Clarifies two distinct French village distinctions and which Alsace villages hold them — correcting loose usage in earlier wiki pages.
Updated 2026-06-01Sources compass_artifact_wf-755602f0-5490-4308-8e53-b6fd57fed828_text_markdown.md; Alsace Wine Route by Car – Itinerary & Map.md
Explore the picturesque village of Estaing and its historic castle surrounded by lush greenery and a serene river.

Two different French designations are often conflated:

1. Les Plus Beaux Villages de France — an official association of certified villages. In Alsace, the source names Mittelbergheim and Hunspach (far north) as members (source: compass_artifact_wf-755602f0...). 2. "Village préféré des Français" — an annual France 2 televised popular vote (a different thing). Alsace winners: Eguisheim (2013, ranked #1 nationally), Kaysersberg (2017), and Bergheim (2022) (source).

> Correction note: earlier wiki pages (drawn from the Alsace Wine Route by Car (Source Summary) source) loosely described Eguisheim, Riquewihr, and Hunawihr as "Most Beautiful Villages in France." That source used the phrase generically; this guide clarifies that Eguisheim's title is the Village préféré TV vote, and the official Plus Beaux Villages members it names are Mittelbergheim and Hunspach. Individual village pages retain the source's wording with this page as the cross-reference.

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