The judgment has been made. For this 5th edition, the association Villes & Villages has established its ranking of the best places to live in France.
Lille takes a tumble
We'll cut to the chase: with so few green spaces, traffic jams, and insecurity... Lille is definitely not part of the top 10. Nevertheless, we never imagined the pearl of the North to be so low in the ranking, as it is at the 188th place out of 34,808. It drops 16 places compared to the 2023 ranking. And among the 40 major cities, Lille is at the bottom, in 35th place. It seems that the trend is general for major metropolises.When it comes to comparison, Paris falls to 103rd place. Lyon climbs to 80th position and Marseille continues to drift further away year after year, anchoring itself at 135th place.![]()
On the podium, Angers, Bayonne, and Biarritz stood out among the 34,808 French municipalities. Alongside them, Anglet, Annecy, and Lorient also dominate the top 10.
Strict judging criteria
There are a total of 187 criteria divided into 11 categories used to establish the final ranking. This includes quality of life, safety, environmental protection, health, shops and services, transportation, education, sports and leisure, finances and local taxes, solidarity, and attractiveness.
Real Estate Agent. 
