ClasséChâteau · protected 1840Château fort, actuellement collègePhoto: Viault · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Vestiges de l'enceinte fortifiée · Photo: Viault · CC BY-SA 3.024historic monuments
History of Falaise · Monuments historiques
24 historic monuments, more per resident than 98% of compared French towns
The Culture ministry lists 24 historic monuments in Falaise: 10 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 14 inscrit (the second level). We have photos of 21 of them. The oldest date from the 10th century.
Monuments historiques
24
31 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
10
the highest protection
Inscrit
14
the second level
Oldest part
10th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
8.2%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Falaise in 21 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Hôtel Saint-LéonardClassé
Place Guillaume-le-ConquérantClassé
Château de la FresnayeClassé
Château fort, actuellement collègeClassé
Église de la TrinitéClassé+16See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Towns its size
Falaise has the 2nd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 7,600 to 7,800 residents, by historic monuments.
Falaise24
#2 of 41for monuments per resident (31 per 10,000). Most per resident: Bourg-Saint-Andéol, Falaise and Thann.
The median town of these has 2. 10 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Falaise’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Château de la Fresnaye
4 of 10classé monuments stand within 400 m of Château de la Fresnaye, with 6 of the town’s 24 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
24 monuments by protection
10 Classé14 Inscrit
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. 3 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
10 classé monuments in Falaise
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 5 of the 10 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChurch · protected 1961Église Notre-Dame de GuibrayPhoto: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1862Église Saint-Gervais-Saint-ProtaisPhoto: Nitot · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown walls · protected 1927Vestiges de l'enceinte fortifiéePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Viault · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1930Maison à pans de boisPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Auteur inconnu Unknown author · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChâteau · protected 1945Château de la FresnayePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Roi.dagobert · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1968Hôtel Saint-LéonardPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Roi.dagobert · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 2024Statue de Guillaume le ConquérantPhoto: Man vyi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséMonument · protected 1935Place Guillaume-le-ConquérantPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Roi.dagobert · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
14 inscrit monuments in Falaise
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 14, A to Z
Ancien Hôtel-DieuAncien Palais de JusticeAncienne auberge de La RomaineAnciennes loges de la foire de GuibrayÉglise Saint-LaurentEnseigne d'aubergeHôtel dit Les RivesImmeuble, 17 rue GambettaImmeuble, 24 rue du Champ-FermeLycée Louis LiardMaison ChapotMaison du 16e siècleManoir du Mesnil-BesnardMarché couvert
2 more, named only by their kind
2 more are named in the list only by their kind: 2 buildings (immeubles), most from the 17th century. The 2 with an address are in the list above, by it.
17th c.1
18th c.1
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Falaise
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes10
Religious buildings4
Shops & trade3
Public & civic2
Tombs & cemeteries1
Houses & homes: 10 of 24 monuments (42%). 4 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 4 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Falaise’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.0
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.6
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution13
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19012
6 of 22 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Château fort, actuellement collège (10th–13th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
5 of Falaise’s monuments were protected in 1927
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1927 · 5
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Château fort, actuellement collège. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 5 were protected in 1927 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
21 people born in Falaise before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Guillaume le Conquérant
François Bonnemer
Alexandre Legot
Louis-Alexandre-Jacques Vardon
Alexandre Piquet
Pierre-Gilles Langevin
Pierre Henry-Larivière
François Fleury
Jacques Édouard Leclerc
Pierre Lenouvel
bienheureux Lecesne
Louis Alphonse de Brébisson
Pauline Roland
Jérôme Esnault
Jules Lardière
Elphège Boursin
Louis Liard
Octave Blondel
Joseph Le Cherpy
Lucien Plantefol
1050120013501500165018001950
GC
Guillaume le Conquérant1028–1087 · King of England from 1066 to 1087, Duke of Normandy from 1035 to 1087
FB
François Bonnemer1638–1689 · French painter and engraver
PH
Pierre Henry-Larivière1761–1838 · French politician
LA
Louis Alphonse de Brébisson1798–1872 · French photographer and botanist
PR
Pauline Roland1805–1852 · French activist
LP
Lucien Plantefol1891–1983 · French botanist
AL
Alexandre Legot1747–1811 · French politician
LA
Louis-Alexandre-Jacques Vardon1751–1809 · French politician
Everyone born in Falaise Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Falaise
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falaise | 7,680 | 24 | 10 | — |
| Saint-Pierre-en-Auge | 7,100 | 18 | 6 | — |
| Argentan Orne | 13,527 | 19 | 7 | — |
| Mézidon Vallée d'Auge | 9,766 | 20 | 9 | — |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre Orne | 4,201 | 6 | 0 | — |
| Moult-Chicheboville | 3,441 | 3 | 0 | — |
| Thury-Harcourt-le-Hom | 3,600 | 2 | 0 | — |
In brief
Falaise in brief
For its size, Falaise has more historic monuments than 98% of compared French towns. In all there are 24 historic monuments, 10 of them classé, including Vestiges de l'enceinte fortifiée. Its classé monuments cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Château de la Fresnaye. In 2024 the Mission Patrimoine picked Église de la Trinité as a monument in danger to save.
Only one of the 41 towns nearest its size has more historic monuments. Most of its dated monuments come from the 16th to 18th centuries: 13 of 22. The oldest, Château fort, actuellement collège, dates from the 10th century. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: 8.2% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
How to read these numbers
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 Falaise
How many historic monuments are there in Falaise?
The Culture ministry lists 24 historic monuments in Falaise: 10 classé and 14 inscrit.
Which monuments in Falaise are classé?
10, among them Château fort, actuellement collège, Église Notre-Dame de Guibray, Église Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, Vestiges de l'enceinte fortifiée, Maison à pans de bois and Château de la Fresnaye.
How old are the monuments of Falaise?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
When were monuments in Falaise first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2024.
How old are the homes in Falaise?
8.2% 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 4, 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.