If you’re a sensible person and don’t find towns with names like Condom to be amusing, then you should never have opened this story.
If, like me, the thought of living in Orgy, central France, raises an eyebrow – then read on. But you have been warned, either way.
So, here we are: Some of the most rude-sounding places in France.
The Arse Stream
Grab a canoe and head down Arse Stream (Ruisseau de l’Arse) in south western France. It’s probably the closest thing to Shit Creek in this country. There’s a lovely Cascade d’Arse at the end (Arse Waterfall).
The town of Condom
Some 200 kilometres to the north west of Arse Stream is a town called Condom, and it seems the town of 7,000 people can’t decide whether they like the name or not. At one point, the mayor opened a museum all about condoms, but later shut it down.
The town even tried to twin itself to a town in the UK, but were denied due to what the Brits considered the embarrassing name. In any case, the French use another word for condom – preservatif, which makes for a few embarrassing mistakes too as we discovered previously.
One thing is for sure, those passing through Condom often take the chance for a quick holiday snap, as these cyclists appear to have done recently.
The village of Anus
Out in the back end of Burgundy you may find yourself passing through Anus, not far from the A6 motorway. This is a tiny village – and its only Bed and Breakfast seems to attract prank reviews so I won’t even name it.
The village of Orgy
Travel just 25 minutes north of Anus and you’ll arrive in the quiet village of Orgy. Be careful driving into town, as tourists are known to stop by the roadside to take pictures of their Orgy experience.
The town of Pussy
Pussy, dissected by the Pussy River (Torrent de Pussy), is a town not far from Italy on the eastern reaches of southern France. The town’s name derives from the Roman name Pussius, but don’t bother telling the tourists that because they’re all having too much fun.
Cyclists, again. (If you like cycling, btw, check out these ten streets you simply must cycle down in Paris)
And lastly, the town of Bitche
Yes, we probably all know someone from Bitche Town, and now we know where it is. Situated in the north eastern corner of France, Bitche is home to 5,000 people and they’re surely all lovely.
Runners up that didn’t make this list, but are perhaps worth a mention, are Brest, Pissy, and Le Tampon in Reunion Island.
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And if you liked this article, you probably would like this podcast episode we did about words – the 19 worst words in the French language. Click play below 🙂
If you’re learning French, here’s a good place to get started:
There’s also:
Bèze in CĂ´te-d’Or. Sounds like baise, or f*ck.
Vatan, in Indre. It sounds like vas t’en, or buzz off/get lost.
Arnac in Cantal. Sounds like arnaque, or rip-off, con job.
Trécon, in Marne. Sounds like très con, or very stupid.
Andouillé in Mayenne. Lose the accent and you have either a rather special sausage or an insult.
Le Cercueil in Normandy, is…a tiny town with no life, I guess.
There are certainly some more.