Discover the 41 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in France

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) identifies, lists and preserves many highly valued sites of humanity’s shared natural and cultural heritage. In certain circumstances, sites included on UNESCO’s Word Heritage list are entitled to support from the World Heritage Fund.

The World Heritage programme was launched by UNESCO in 1972, and since that time 1001 sites have been accredited. Nearly half of these are located in Europe and North America. France alone boasts 39 sites, which are listed here by theme:

Culture & Coastline

• Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay (1979)

Culture & Religion

• Chartres Cathedral (1979)
• Vezeley Churchand Hill (1979)
• Amiens Cathedral (1981)
• Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay (1981)
• Abby Church of Saint-Savin sur Gartempe (1983)
• Bourges Cathedral (1992)
• TheFrench pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela (1998)

Culture & City

• Palace and Park of Versailles (1979)
• Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the ‘Triumphal Arch’ of Orange (1981)
• Roman and Romanesque Monuments in Arles (1981)
• Place Stanislas, Placed de la Carrière and Place d’Alliance in Nancy (1983)
• Strasbourg–Grand Ile (1988)
• Banks of the Seine in Paris (1991)
• Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémin and Palace of Tau in Reims (1991)
• Papal Palace and Historic Centre of Avignon (1995)
• Historic Fortified City of Carcassone (1997)
• Historic Site of Lyon (1998)
• Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion (1999)
• Belfries of Belgium and France (1999)
• Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs (2001)
• Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret (2005)
• Port of the Moon in Bordeaux (2007)
• Episcopal City ofAlbi (2010)

Culture & Nature

• Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley (1979)
• Palace and Park of Fontainebleau (1981)
• The Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the Production of Open-Pan Salt (1982)
• The Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct, 1985)
• The Canal du Midi (1996)
  
• Mont Perdu in the Pyrénees (1997)
• The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes (the château of Anger, the Abbey of Fontevraud, the château of Langeais, the château of Clos Lucé, the château and stables of Chaumont sur Loire, and others, 2000)
• A group of twelve sitesdevoted to the Fortifications of Vauban (Lille, Briançon, the Musée Vauban, and elsewhere, 2008)
• Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (2011).
• Mediterranean Agro-Pastoral Cultural Landscape of Causses and Cévennes (2011)
• Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin (2012)
• Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc, known as Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche (2014)
• Climats, terroirs of Burgundy (2015)
• Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars (2015)

Nature

• Gulf of Poro, Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, and Scandola Reserve in Corsica (1983)
• Lagoons of New Caledonia with their Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems (2008)
• Pitons, Cirques and Ramparts of Reunion Island (2010)