Théâtre · Photo: Prosopee · CC BY-SA 3.023 historic monuments, more per resident than 99% of compared French towns
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1996. The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Gray: 7 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 16 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 13th century. We have photos of 20 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Gray in 20 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
ChâteauClassé
Hôtel Gauthiot d'AncierClassé
Hôtel de villeClassé
Maison, ancien grenierClassé
MaisonClassé+15See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Gray has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 5,300 to 5,400 residents, by historic monuments.
The median town of these has 1. 16 of the 41 have none.
Where Gray’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.
7 classé monuments in Gray
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 4 of the 7 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé16 inscrit monuments in Gray
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 16, A to Z
1 more, named only by its kind
One more is named in the list only by its kind: 1 house (maison), most from the 15th century. The one with an address is in the list above, by it.
Houses and homes are the largest group in Gray
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 10 of 23 monuments (43%). 3 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 3 have no domain on the list.
How old Gray’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
4 of 22 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Église Notre-Dame (15th & 16th c.). 1 monument has no date on the list.
Gray has had a protected historic area since 1996
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR27-48 | ZPPAUP April 2, 1996 | ZPPAUP (heritage zone rules) April 2, 1996 |
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.
5 of Gray’s monuments were protected in 2000
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1886: Hôtel de ville. 5 were protected in 2000 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
14% of homes in Gray were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
14% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1946 and 1970 than in any other period (43%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
32 people born in Gray before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Gray Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Gray in brief
Few towns are as rich in historic monuments as Gray: per resident it has more than 99% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 23 historic monuments, 7 of them classé. No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population.
Its housing is old: 14% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1996. Of the 32 people born here before 1900, the best known include François Devosge (1732), Jean-Baptiste-Rose-Bonaventure Violet d'Épagny (1787) and Antoine-Augustin Cournot (1801).
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 Gray
How many historic monuments are there in Gray?
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Gray: 7 classé and 16 inscrit.
Which monuments in Gray are classé?
7, among them Église Notre-Dame, Maison, ancien grenier, Hôtel de ville and Hôtel Gauthiot d'Ancier.
How old are the monuments of Gray?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 13th century.
Is Gray a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Gray has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1996.
When were monuments in Gray first protected?
The first in 1886, the latest in 2022.
How old are the homes in Gray?
14% 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.