France elects chocolate box Hunspach village as its 2020 favourite

A picturesque, half-timbered village near the German border has won this year’s title of "France’s favourite village". Hunspach now waits patiently for tourists to flock and admire it.

A typical timbered house in Hunspach, voted 'France's favourite village' in 2020 © Mairie de Hunspach

Hunspach, a diminutive village of 652 inhabitants in Alsace, north-eastern France, was selected in a TV poll by some 700,000 viewers.

It’s the third Alsatian village to claim the title of the annual contest after Keysersberg in 2017 and Eguisheim in 2013.

Locals in Hunspach, known as Hunspachois turned out in hearty numbers to watch the result announced on popular TV show Le Village Préféré des Français (France’s favourite village), broadcast on France 3.

🇫🇷 Plus beaux #villages de France : scènes de joie lors de l'annonce de la victoire de #Hunspach pour l'édition 2020. #Village #villageprefere pic.twitter.com/zESIn5prAU

— Conflits (@Conflits_FR) July 1, 2020

There were 14 finalists in this year’s competition, selected on the basis of their cultural traditions, cuisine and architecture.

With its white, half-timbered houses and window boxes overflowing with geraniums, both typical of the Alsace region, Hunspach is well endowed on all fronts.

The annual competition is designed to showcase lesser-known communes and encourage visitors. Locals are now bracing themselves for an influx of tourists.

The Covid-19 hit France’s tourism industry hard, closing hotels and restaurants for three months and limiting travel.

Second place in the competition went to Les Anses-d'Arlet in the French overseas territory of Martinique, while Ménerbes in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur picked up third prize.