UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Preserving France’s Cultural and Natural Legacy

France is a country known for its rich history, diversity and natural beauty, and is home to many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These areas have been carefully selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and recognized worldwide for their outstanding results.

France has 45 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 6 of which are cross-border sites. 39 of France’s world heritage sites are located on the French mainland (or on the coast, one in Corsica), while the rest are in New Caledonia and Réunion.

Below is a list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in France, including 42 sites of cultural significance, one natural area, and one mixed cultural and natural area.

Name	Date Inscribed	Category	Visited
Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay	1979	Cultural
Chartres Cathedral	1979	Cultural
Palace and Park of Versailles	1979	Cultural
Vézelay, Church and Hill	1979	Cultural
Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley	1979	Cultural
Palace and Park of Fontainebleau	1981	Cultural
Amiens Cathedral	1981	Cultural
Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the	1981	Cultural
Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments	1981	Cultural
Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay	1981	Cultural
From the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the Production of Open-pan Salt	1982	Cultural
Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge	1995	Cultural
Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance in Nancy	1983	Cultural
Abbey Church of Saint-Savin sur Gartempe	1983	Cultural
Gulf of Porto: Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve	1983	Natural
Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct)	1985	Cultural
Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne	1997	Cultural
Strasbourg, Grande-Île and Neustadt	1988	Cultural	Strasbourg (2018)
Paris, Banks of the Seine	1991	Cultural
Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi and Palace of Tau, Reims	1991	Cultural
Bourges Cathedral	1992	Cultural
Canal du Midi	1996	Cultural
Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France	1998	Cultural
Historic Site of Lyon	1998	Cultural
Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs	2001	Cultural
Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion	1999	Cultural	Saint-Emilion (2024)
The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes	2000	Cultural
Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems	2008	Natural
The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape	2011	Cultural
Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret	2005	Cultural
Bordeaux, Port of the Moon	2007	Cultural	Bordeaux (2024)
Fortifications of Vauban	2008	Cultural
Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island	2010	Natural
Episcopal City of Albi	2010	Cultural
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin	2012	Cultural
The Climats, terroirs of Burgundy	2015	Cultural
Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc, known as Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche	2014	Cultural
Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault tectonic arena	2018	Natural
Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars	2015	Cultural
Taputapuātea	2017	Cultural
French Austral Lands and Seas	2019	Natural
Cordouan Lighthouse	2021	Cultural
Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera	2021	Cultural
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe	2007	Natural
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement	2016	Cultural
The Great Spa Towns of Europe	2021	Cultural
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps	2011	Cultural
Belfries of Belgium and France	1999	Cultural
Pyrénées - Mont Perdu	1997	Mixed

The table UNESCO - France was last modified at 2025-05-02 20:39:52.

---