Matthias Debureaux surfs on the need to go back to nature by proposing that we rediscover the small villages that we too often pass by without stopping, even though a famous personality has lived there at a key moment in contemporary history. The Guide revisits the footprints left by the passage of personalities in an instructive and unexpected way. — Claire Lefebvre, La Voix du Nord

After four years of cycling around the province, Matthias Debureaux publishes a delightful guide, ideal for discovering our country far from the beaten track. — L’Express

Track down the VIPs of our villages. Discover juicy anecdotes in the footsteps of more or less savory personalities. An original way to prepare your next vacation on the roads of France! — La Croix

A who’s who of tourism, furiously up to date, which taps into our post-Covid need to go back to nature, by proposing to us to rediscover the small towns in front of which we too often pass without stopping. — La Voix du Nord

A completely new tourist guide. — Livres Hebdo

A host of surprising anecdotes and beautiful pretexts for a stroll through small towns. — Le Populaire du Centre

The Guide revisits the footprints left by a great name in music, literature or politics in an instructive and unexpected way. — Nord Éclair

Another way to discover France or one’s own village with a different eye. — La Nouvelle République

If you want to learn things, to walk around, to discover France, then don’t hesitate. This book puts the spotlight on all the villages we don’t talk about enough. — France Bleu

I love it! Matthias Debureaux went on a bicycle tour of France in search of celebrities who lived in small villages. — Olivia de Lamberterie, Télématin

An enthralling journey and a wonderful book. — France Bleu

Discover how well-known personalities as varied as Marie Curie, Lenin, Madonna, Fidel Castro, Harry Truman, Albert Einstein, Orson Welles and Pope John-Paul II are connected with different villages in France.

Practically every famous person from the past century has an intimate link to a small town somewhere in France. This guide presents four hundred villages that have attracted pop stars, actors, painters, political leaders and scientists…let alone the inventors of photography, showers, motorized robberies, and bras! Four hundred big names for as many small towns.

A tour guide, Who’s Who, and mini-encyclopedia all rolled into one, The Who’s Who of French Villages is a book like no other. The entries are arranged by village, and each one is a juicy telling of the place’s history and geography. Exploring France has never been so entertaining!