InscritLighthouse · protected 2002Phare de l'îlet de Petite-TerrePhoto: Gilaime · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Phare de l'îlet de Petite-Terre · Photo: Gilaime · CC BY-SA 3.03historic monuments
History of La Désirade · Monuments historiques
3 historic monuments, none of them classé
Protection in La Désirade began in 2002. Among the monuments in La Désirade: Phare de l'îlet de Petite-Terre and Eglise Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours. The oldest date from the 19th century.
Monuments historiques
3
Classé
0
the highest protection
Inscrit
3
the second level
Oldest part
19th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
0%
median compared town 7.4%
Map
Where La Désirade’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Inscrit
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
3 monuments by protection
3 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.
Inscrit
3 inscrit monuments in La Désirade
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Church · protected 2013Eglise Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours
Monument · protected 2008Station météorologique, située à la pointe des châteaux sur l'île de la Désirade
Age of homes
0% of homes in La Désirade were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
0%
Before 1919
1.2%
1919–45
8.3%
1946–70
36%
1971–90
43%
1991–2005
12%
2006 on
La DésiradeMedian compared French town
0% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1991 and 2005 than in any other period (43%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around La Désirade
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Désirade | 1,306 | 3 | 0 | — |
| Saint-François | 13,942 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Le Moule | 23,014 | 3 | 2 | — |
In brief
La Désirade in brief
La Désirade has 3 historic monuments, including Phare de l'îlet de Petite-Terre. Its homes are mostly newer: 0% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. The oldest, Phare de l'îlet de Petite-Terre, dates from the 19th century. Beyond that, the list grew between 2002 and 2013.
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 La Désirade
How many historic monuments are there in La Désirade?
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in La Désirade: 3 inscrit, none classé.
How old are the homes in La Désirade?
0% 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) · 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.