église Saint-Étienne · Photo: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.04 historic monuments, 1 classé
Ars-en-Ré’s first monument was protected in 1903. The oldest monuments in Ars-en-Ré date from the 12th century. We have photos of 3 of Ars-en-Ré’s monuments.
Monuments of Ars-en-Ré in pictures
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Where Ars-en-Ré’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.
One classé monument in Ars-en-Ré
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé3 inscrit monuments in Ars-en-Ré
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
Inscrit12% of homes in Ars-en-Ré were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
12% 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 (30%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
5 people born in Ars-en-Ré before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Everyone born in Ars-en-Ré Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Historic monuments in the towns around Ars-en-Ré
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ars-en-Ré | 1,314 | 4 | 1 | — |
| La Flotte | 3,150 | 3 | 2 | Yes |
| Sainte-Marie-de-Ré | 3,412 | 1 | 1 | Yes |
| La Tranche-sur-Mer Vendée | 3,136 | 0 | 0 | — |
| L'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'île Vendée | 2,845 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Longeville-sur-Mer Vendée | 2,625 | 1 | 0 | Yes |
| Angles Vendée | 3,115 | 2 | 2 | — |
Ars-en-Ré in brief
Ars-en-Ré’s oldest monument, église Saint-Étienne, dates from the 12th century. All told, the list holds 4 historic monuments, 1 of them classé, including église Saint-Étienne. Of its homes, 12% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Marie-Thérèse Dethan-Roullet (1870), Gaston Roullet (1847) and Séraphine Pajaud (1858) are among the 5 people born here before 1900. Beyond that, the list grew between 1903 and 2002.
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 Ars-en-Ré
How many historic monuments are there in Ars-en-Ré?
The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in Ars-en-Ré: 1 classé and 3 inscrit.
Which monuments in Ars-en-Ré are classé?
One: église Saint-Étienne.
How old are the homes in Ars-en-Ré?
12% 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.