This French village is a real tourist curiosity in Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is approaching and this year, it could well be conducive to a beautiful romance for a weekend, since it falls on a Friday, February 14. To celebrate the feast of lovers, France is full of places with a romantic atmosphere starting with Paris, baptized “the city of love” or emblematic villages like Riquewihr, Gordes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence or again Gerberoy. But it is a very small unknown village of the French who has the distinction of being considered as the “lovers village” par excellence.
Each year, this charming commune located in Indre in the heart of Berry attracts nearly 3,000 visitors, including many couples, especially on Valentine’s Day, to celebrate their love. And it is mainly Japanese, for whom the feast of lovers is a real institution, which freshen to visit it. Faced with this craze, it must be said that the village gives them the same: the only restaurant in the town is run by a starred star chef, Takuya Kakehashi, who merges Berrichonne and Japanese cuisine.
But then why so much enthusiasm for this small village of some 200 souls? For the simple reason that the village bears the name of the patron saint of lovers! And the appeal for the village is not limited to its simple name. Saint-Valentin organizes numerous activities around the feast of lovers each year.
A real mass of lovers takes place every February 14 for couples who wish to receive a blessing, and even a discount of the “love diploma” by the mayor of the city, a fun way to leave with a unique memory of his passage in This small village. For two days, a craft market offers local and original products, perfect for making gifts or a tasting between lovers. The houses of the village are lined with flowers …
And so as not to fall back in the most total anonymity once the party has been spent, Saint-Valentin houses a garden of lovers, on 4 hectares and bordered by playgrounds, which is a special place of promenade for couples all The year, with its wide variety of flowers and plants. The garden, twinned with the Nakuto-Cho park in Japan, also houses a heart tree on which lovers hang on hearts engraved with their names and a kiosk of lovers. The couples can come to plant a tree, with the botanical plate and the name of the owner.
What could be better than celebrating Valentine’s Day in the only village in France to bear the name of Valentine’s Day? As for the idea of dinner in its only Japanese restaurant, this February 14, it will be for the next time … because you have to take the lead two to three months in advance!