Ancien séminaire · Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0A secteur sauvegardé since 1971, and 31 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 31 historic monuments in Bayeux: 15 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 16 inscrit (the second level). That’s 24 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 97% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from Antiquity. We have photos of 29 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Bayeux in 29 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancien couvent de la CharitéClassé
Église de Saint-Loup-Hors-BayeuxClassé
Hôtel de CastillyClassé
Ancien palais épiscopal, actuellement Hôtel de villeClassé
Hôtel de la Tour du Pin (Hôtel de Bricqueville)Classé+24See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Bayeux has had a protected historic area since 1971
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR28-02 | Secteur sauvegardé December 15, 1971 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) July 13, 2007 |
A site patrimonial remarquable protects a whole area rather than one building: inside it, building work follows the area’s own plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Where Bayeux’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
Classé is the higher protection: any work on the building needs the State’s permission. Work on an inscrit building must be declared to the State in advance. Around both, building work in sight of the monument (usually within 500 m) needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
Points as the ministry gives them: a monument spread over several plots has one point.
15 classé monuments in Bayeux
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 12 of the 15 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
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Classé16 inscrit monuments in Bayeux
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 16, A to Z
5 more, named only by their kind
5 more are named in the list only by their kind: 4 houses (maisons) and 1 building (immeuble), most from the 18th century. The 5 with an address are in the list above, by it.
Most of Bayeux’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 22 of 31 monuments (71%). 4 are religious buildings, 4 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 3 have no domain on the list.
How old Bayeux’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
8 of 29 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Vestiges archéologiques gallo-romains (Antiquity). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Bayeux’s list has grown since 1862
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1862: Ancien séminaire, Cathédrale Notre-Dame and Église de Saint-Loup-Hors-Bayeux. 6 were protected in 1927 alone. None has been added since 2011.
15% of homes in Bayeux were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
15% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1971 and 1990 than in any other period (38%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
28 people born in Bayeux before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Bayeux Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Bayeux has the 3rd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 12,400 to 13,000 residents, by historic monuments.
Historic monuments in the towns around Bayeux
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayeux | 12,659 | 31 | 15 | Yes |
| Le Molay-Littry | 3,124 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Thue et Mue | 6,182 | 7 | 1 | — |
| Rots | 2,544 | 6 | 3 | — |
| Courseulles-sur-Mer | 4,268 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Carpiquet | 3,428 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Villers-Bocage | 3,088 | 0 | 0 | — |
Bayeux in brief
The record in Bayeux starts with Vestiges archéologiques gallo-romains, which dates from Antiquity. In all there are 31 historic monuments, 15 of them classé, including Ancien séminaire. Its old center has been a secteur sauvegardé since 1971. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 97% of compared French towns.
Its housing is old: 15% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Its classé monuments cluster together: 12 of them stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Notre-Dame. Only 2 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Monuments historiques. France protects buildings at two levels. Classé, the higher (about a third of the list), means any work needs the State’s permission; inscrit means work must be declared to the State in advance. The Culture ministry’s Mérimée base lists every protected building, and this page counts them.
- Partly protected. Many entries protect part of a building only (its façades and roofs, a staircase, a painted room). Each counts as one monument, like a fully protected one.
- Where a monument is counted. In the commune named on its protection, moved to today’s commune where communes have since merged. A monument listed for several communes counts in each.
- Sites patrimoniaux remarquables. Since 2016 France’s protected historic areas (the former secteurs sauvegardés, ZPPAUP and AVAP) share one name. Inside one, building work follows the area’s plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
- What isn’t here. Protected objects (furniture, organs, paintings), old buildings with no protection, UNESCO World Heritage listings and labels such as “Plus Beaux Villages de France” aren’t on this list, so this page doesn’t count them.
- No History Grade yet. Everything on this page is described, not graded: France’s History Grade isn’t built yet.
Questions about the history of Bayeux
How many historic monuments are there in Bayeux?
The Culture ministry lists 31 historic monuments in Bayeux: 15 classé and 16 inscrit.
Which monuments in Bayeux are classé?
15, among them Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Ancien séminaire, Maison dite du Gouverneur, Maison dite d'Adam et Eve, Ancien palais épiscopal, actuellement Hôtel de ville and Église Saint-Patrice.
How old are the monuments of Bayeux?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from Antiquity.
Is Bayeux a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Bayeux has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1971.
When were monuments in Bayeux first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2008.
How old are the homes in Bayeux?
15% of its main homes were built before 1919 (median compared French town: 7.4%).
France has no History Grade yet: this page describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sources: Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée base on POP (immeubles protégés au titre des monuments historiques), October 2026 · Ministère de la Culture, sites patrimoniaux remarquables, October 2026 · INSEE, census 2023 (main homes by build period) · Wikidata and Wikipedia (people born here) · Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata (photos of the monuments, each with its own credit and license) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 9, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.