Would you like to find your own little corner of paradise? A quiet, pleasant place where you can unwind after a week’s work? After the coolest neighborhood in Paris, the association “Villes et villages où il fait bon vivre”, in partnership with the JDD, has just compiled a ranking of the most pleasant towns to live in. Out of 500 towns and villages in France, 150 are in the Paris region! Among the departments offering the highest quality of life, Hauts-de-Seine takes the gold medal, with 33 towns represented in this ranking alone. They are closely followed by Val-de-Marne, with 31 towns, and Essonne, with 27. And of all the cities in the ranking, one stands out: Versailles. City of the Sun King, known for its magnificent royal estate and relaxing setting, the town is judged to be the best in the Île-de-France region!
Versailles voted most pleasant city in the Paris region
Biarritz may have topped the list of France’s most pleasant cities in 2025, but it’s Versailles that tops the list of Île-de-France’s most livable cities. To arrive at this conclusion, the study analyzed the 34,795 towns in mainland France according to 190 specific criteria: quality of life, sports, leisure, safety, health… This year, three new environmental criteria have been added: earthquakes, floods and their recurrence, and natural disasters…
Despite its 26ᵉ place in the overall ranking,Versaillesbecomes the first city in Île-de-France to be considered the most pleasant to live in. World-famous for its chateau and gardens, which thrill thousands of visitors from all over the world every year, Versailles boasts a rich and varied cultural life. Its lush green setting, thanks to the surrounding forests, makes it particularly attractive to young families looking for a more tranquil setting.
With its reputation for safety and security, Versailles is also well served by public transport (SNCF station, bus), enabling residents to easily reach the center of Paris.