One of the ‘Most Beautiful Villages in France’, Gerberoy’s half-timbered buildings clad in roses, gorgeous gardens and gastronomy make it the perfect couple’s weekend getaway destination.

Gerberoy is one of those places just made to amble around at your own pace, with its winding streets lined by colourful rose bushes growing up the walls of its medieval houses and in every nook and cranny. Other than the 11th-century church and Italianate Jardins Henri le Sidaner – founded by the intimist painter, and also filled with roses– there are no ‘sights’. All the better to soak up the atmosphere, browse one of the tiny art galleries and relax in a tea-room or country bistro.
 

At least 1,000 years old, Gerberoy is a remarkable survivor of this region’s turbulent past. An important Norman stronghold due to its elevated position, it survived both the French Revolution and World War I. That said, three large fires shrank it dramatically – despite technically being a town (the smallest in all France), its population numbers only 115, including those with holiday homes.