From Anus to Montcuq: France’s funniest place names revealed

Anus (Yonne) and Sallespisse (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) are among 30 unusual place names to feature in a new Toponym Tour de France.

The list, compiled by holiday rental site Toploc earlier this year, focuses on town signs guaranteed to make visitors titter. 

Among the favourites is Condom (Gers) – amusing to both French and English speakers due to its obvious connotations. 

The place itself is particularly picturesque, and can be found along the popular walking route, Le Puy Camino. 

“We can testify that the name of the town often arouses curiosity and amusement,” local Condom association Tous en Scène told The Connexion.

“We have witnessed some rather charming scenes: travellers posing in groups, cycle tourists stopping to capture the moment, or families leaving with their souvenir photo, smiles on their faces. 

"These moments help to make Condom a memorable stop on a journey through Gers.”

Other place names that may tickle English-speakers include the town of Seix (Ariège) which sounds phonetically identical to ‘sex’, while Largeasse (Deux-Sèvres) could be understood as describing a big behind.

Alternatively, take a detour through Misery (Somme) and Die (Drôme) for a more sombre atmosphere, or visit Chilly (Haute-Savoie), which has ironically endured high temperatures and drought warnings this summer.

And who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to say: Bonjour, je viens de Mars – as residents of the Loire commune of Mars can proudly claim.

In the region of Centre-Val de Loire, meanwhile, you will find Villechauve (Loir-et-Cher), which claims to be ‘Honorary Commune for the Baldies of France’. 

Its official emblem even features a comb. Some 55km away is the town of Villeperdue (Indre-et-Loire), which loosely translates as ‘Town in the Middle of Nowhere’. 

Plenty of place names are also inspired by animals, including La Mouche (Manche, ‘The Fly’), La Porcherie (Haute-Vienne, The Pigsty’), Longcochon (Jura, ‘Long Pig’), and the distinctly fishy-sounding Poissons (Haute-Marne). 

The plot thickens upon reading a sign at the entrance to the town, which states that Poissons is twinned with Avril (Meurthe-et-Moselle). 

This arrangement was made official on April 1, 1979 as an inter-departmental riff on Poisson d’avril, the French term for April Fool’s Day.

For a slightly ruder name, look no further than the commune of La Pisseure (Haute-Saône), which could be understood as describing someone who is urinating. 

Similarly, Montcuq (Lot) sounds a lot like mon cul (my ass) in French. 

Visitors now come to the village to rub the reputedly lucky bare buttocks of a sculpture made by a local artist named Hugo. 

The village’s popularity even led to the creation of a limited-edition Montcuq Monopoly board. 

'Of all the places I could choose!'

Emma Neilson, originally from Suffolk, UK, opened Le Coucou guesthouse in Montcuq in 2024. She had “no idea” about the meaning of the town’s name before making the move. 

“When I found out I just thought: ‘Oh, typical… of all the places to choose,’ but it did make me laugh,” she said.

“I think the village gets quite a lot of tourism from it. Last year I had a couple from Belgium come to stay, who drove down especially to see it.

Although Ms Neilson’s address has caused her some embarrassing moments, it also acts as an amusing ice-breaker: “At the beginning of the summer I got chatting to a guy from Paris and when I told him I lived in Montcuq he found it absolutely hilarious. 

“It’s funny because the name does not have the same meaning to me, but obviously in France it is a big joke.”

And the amusing place names do not stop there – even streets are included in the fun. 

Rue des Crottes (Poop Street) can be found in Marseille, Rue de la Gerbe (Puke Street) is in Lyon, and if someone is really getting on your nerves, you could drop a hint by taking them for a stroll along Rue Casse-Cul (Pain in the Ass Street), located in the town of Montboucher-sur-Jabron. 

What is even more amusing is that each of these street name examples exists more than once throughout France. 

Rue de l’Enfer (Hell Street) is the name of an extremely narrow passageway found in Les Sables-d'Olonne. 

It was actually listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the narrowest street in the world between 1986 and 2006, with a width of just 40cm. 

Finally, in the town of Saint-Armel (Morbihan), the Rue des Corps-Nuds, which sounds a lot like ‘the Street of Naked Bodies’, leads to a commune of the same name.