Porte Saint-Nicolas · Photo: Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.037 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2020
The Culture ministry lists 37 historic monuments in Beaune: 16 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 19 inscrit (the second level). 2 have no protection level on the list. That’s 18 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 94% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 12th century. We have photos of 30 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Beaune in 30 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
ChapitreClassé
Église Notre-Dame et son presbytèreClassé
Hôtel de Saulx (ancien)Classé
Hôtel-Dieu ou Hospices civils de BeauneClassé
BeffroiClassé+25See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Beaune has had a protected historic area since 2020
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR27-03 | AVAP September 24, 2020 | AVAP (heritage area rules) |
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.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Where Beaune’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. 2 monuments have no point on the map.
16 classé monuments in Beaune
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 6 of the 16 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
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Classé21 inscrit monuments in Beaune
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared. 2 of them have no protection level on the list.
All 21, A to Z
7 more, named only by their kind
7 more are named in the list only by their kind: 6 houses (maisons) and 1 building (immeuble), most from the 13th century. The 7 with an address are in the list above, by it.
Houses and homes are the largest group in Beaune
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 14 of 37 monuments (38%). 9 are religious buildings, 5 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
How old Beaune’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
16 of 33 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Chapelle du domaine de Bapteault (12th & 15th c.). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
Beaune’s list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1840: Église Notre-Dame et son presbytère. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 5 were protected in 1927 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
13% of homes in Beaune were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
13% 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 (36%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
32 people born in Beaune before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Beaune Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Beaune has the 3rd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 19,800 to 20,900 residents, by historic monuments.
The median town of these has 2. 5 of the 41 have none.
Historic monuments in the towns around Beaune
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaune | 20,352 | 37 | 16 | Yes |
| Chagny Saône-et-Loire | 5,350 | 6 | 3 | Yes |
| Nuits-Saint-Georges | 5,235 | 6 | 3 | Yes |
| Gergy Saône-et-Loire | 2,566 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Champforgeuil Saône-et-Loire | 2,637 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Gevrey-Chambertin | 2,917 | 4 | 0 | Yes |
| Châtenoy-le-Royal Saône-et-Loire | 6,267 | 2 | 2 | — |
Beaune in brief
Few towns are as rich in historic monuments as Beaune: per resident it has more than 94% of compared French towns. In all there are 37 historic monuments, 16 of them classé, including Porte Saint-Nicolas. The oldest, Chapelle du domaine de Bapteault, dates from the 12th century. Its housing is old: 13% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Its classé monuments cluster together: 14 of them stand within 400 m of Hospice de la Charité. Only 2 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2020.
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 Beaune
How many historic monuments are there in Beaune?
The Culture ministry lists 37 historic monuments in Beaune: 16 classé and 19 inscrit.
Which monuments in Beaune are classé?
16, among them Chapelle du domaine de Bapteault, Église Saint-Nicolas, Église Notre-Dame et son presbytère, Hôtel de Saulx (ancien), Hôtel des Ducs de Bourgogne (ancien) and Hôtel-Dieu ou Hospices civils de Beaune.
How old are the monuments of Beaune?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
Is Beaune a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Beaune has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2020.
When were monuments in Beaune first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2023.
How old are the homes in Beaune?
13% 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.