ClasséCathedral · protected 1862Cathédrale Saint-ApollinairePhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pendentif · Photo: Esby · CC BY-SA 4.019historic monuments
History of Valence · Monuments historiques
19 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2023
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Valence: 8 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 11 inscrit (the second level). That’s 2.9 for every 10,000 residents; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 16 of them.
Monuments historiques
19
2.9 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
8
the highest protection
Inscrit
11
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
5.1%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Valence in 16 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Cathédrale Saint-ApollinaireClassé
Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Ruf "le Haut"Classé
Kiosque PeynetClassé
Maison des TêtesClassé
Chapelle des Cordeliers (ancienne)Classé+11See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Protected area
Valence has had a protected historic area since 2023
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR84-156 | – November 8, 2023 | – |
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.
Map
Where Valence’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire
6 of 8classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire, with 7 of the town’s 19 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
19 monuments by protection
8 Classé11 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. 7 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
8 classé monuments in Valence
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 8 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséAbbey · protected 1921Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Ruf "le Haut"Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséChapel · protected 1983Chapelle des Cordeliers (ancienne)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHome · protected 1982Kiosque PeynetPhoto: Jacques FORÊT : Sequajectrof · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1926Maison Dupré-LatourPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséWar memorial · protected 2022Monument aux morts
Inscrit
11 inscrit monuments in Valence
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritChurch · protected 1978Église Saint-JeanPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritAbbey · protected 2014Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Ruf-hors-les-mursPhoto: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritFortified house · protected 2016Domaine de Murat-FontlozierPhoto: Romainbehar · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritAbbey · protected 1926Abbaye Notre-Dame-de-Soyons (ancienne)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChapel · protected 1997Ancienne chapelle des Capucins, dépendant actuellement de la Direction Départementale de l'Equipement de la DrômePhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 1981Hôtel de Pampelonne (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritResidence · protected 1997Ancien clos Genest : villa des Cigales et villa MargotPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown hall · protected 2018hôtel de villePhoto: Sequajectrof Jacques Forêt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritStation · protected 1982Gare, rue Denis-PapinPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Town house · protected 1983Hôtel des Ponts-et-ChausséesPart of the building is protected
Château · protected 2007Domaine de Valensolles
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Valence
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings8
Houses & homes8
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Bridges & engineering1
Religious buildings: 8 of 19 monuments (42%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old
How old Valence’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.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution8
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19012
3 of 16 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire (11th–17th c.). 3 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Valence’s list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
The first was protected in 1840. 2 were protected in 1926 alone. 4 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
29 people born in Valence before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Charles-Victor de Bachasson
Alphonse-Hubert de Latier de Bayane
Alexandre Camille Taponier
Jean Urbain Fugière
Jean-Pierre Arbot
Jean-François Réalier-Dumas
Alphonse Badon
Jean-Jacques Baude
Charles du Trémolet de Lacheisserie
Léo de Laborde
Napoléon Chancel
Pierre Louis Belin
Charles Plan de Siéyès
Jules Varnier
Jean Joseph Frédéric Albert Farre
Jean-Charles Curnier
Émile Augier
Oscar Soubeyran de Saint-Prix
Antoine d'Estienne de Prunières
Louis-François Roux
170017501800185019001950
AC
Alexandre Camille Taponier1749–1831 · French general
JJ
Jean-Jacques Baude1792–1862 · French administrator and politician
JJ
Jean Joseph Frédéric Albert Farre1816–1887 · French Army general
ÉA
Émile Augier1820–1889 · French writer
CV
Charles-Victor de Bachasson1703–1779 · French general
AH
Alphonse-Hubert de Latier de Bayane1739–1818 · French cardinal
JU
Jean Urbain Fugière1752–1813 · French general
JP
Jean-Pierre Arbot1767–1813 · French soldier
Everyone born in Valence Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Valence
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valence | 64,458 | 19 | 8 | Yes |
| Guilherand-Granges Ardèche | 11,235 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bourg-lès-Valence | 19,992 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Malissard | 3,294 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Péray Ardèche | 7,580 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence | 6,176 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Portes-lès-Valence | 10,477 | 1 | 0 | — |
In brief
Valence in brief
Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire, from the 11th century, is the oldest monument in Valence. In all there are 19 historic monuments, 8 of them classé. Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire sits at the heart of it all, with 6 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2023.
Of the 16 with a date, 8 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. Of the 29 people born here before 1900, the best known include Alexandre Camille Taponier (1749), Jean-Jacques Baude (1792) and Jean Joseph Frédéric Albert Farre (1816). Beyond that, it has 19 historic monuments, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 7); per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns; and 5.1% 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 Valence
How many historic monuments are there in Valence?
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Valence: 8 classé and 11 inscrit.
Which monuments in Valence are classé?
8, among them Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire, Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Ruf "le Haut", Maison des Têtes, Chapelle des Cordeliers (ancienne), Kiosque Peynet and Monument aux morts.
How old are the monuments of Valence?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Valence a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Valence has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2023.
When were monuments in Valence first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2022.
How old are the homes in Valence?
5.1% 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.