Around 100 towns in France have been classified as attractive detours: towns that are small to medium in size and contain enough historical interest or character that they are recommended places to visit as you are exploring or as you are travelling around.
In French these are called 'Plus Beaux Détours'.
If you go in the tourist office of any of the towns you can also get a guide to all 100 of those listed which is very useful.
We think this is a great idea! Lots of places are interesting to visit without necessarily being major destinations, and we all prefer a nice town centre than a motorway service station! So be sure to take a look along your route before you set off driving and make sure you time your lunch break appropriately!
You might also be interested in the Villages d'etape, which is a similar idea, but based around villages close to main transport links.
Note: there is also a map showing the position of these Scenic Detour towns at the bottom of this page.