ClasséBishop’s palace · protected 1984Ancien évêché ou ancien palais épiscopalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Juliofsanguino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Villa dite château Laurens · Photo: Guy5934 · CC BY-SA 3.017historic monuments
History of Agde · Monuments historiques
17 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2004
The Culture ministry lists 17 historic monuments in Agde: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 13 inscrit (the second level). That’s 5.7 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 73% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 14 of them.
Monuments historiques
17
5.7 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
4
the highest protection
Inscrit
13
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
7.4%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Agde in 14 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Anciens rempartsClassé
Ancien évêché ou ancien palais épiscopalClassé
Ancienne cathédrale Saint-EtienneClassé
Maison RenaissanceInscrit
Ancien hôtel de villeInscrit+9See 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
Agde has had a protected historic area since 2004
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR76-47 | ZPPAUP August 10, 2004 | AVAP (heritage area rules) February 16, 2016 |
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 Agde’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Etienne
3 of 4classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Etienne, with 10 of the town’s 17 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
17 monuments by protection
4 Classé13 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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
Classé
4 classé monuments in Agde
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 4 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséCathedral · protected 1840Ancienne cathédrale Saint-EtiennePhoto: Vpe · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséInscrit
13 inscrit monuments in Agde
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 13, A to Z
2 more, named only by their kind
2 more are named in the list only by their kind: 2 buildings (immeubles), most from the 17th century. The 2 with an address are in the list above, by it.
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Agde
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes7
Military & fortified3
Bridges & engineering3
Religious buildings2
Public & civic1
Houses & homes: 7 of 17 monuments (41%). 2 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
How old
How old Agde’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.4
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution11
19th century 1801–19002
20th century and later since 19010
4 of 17 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne église Saint-André (11th–19th c.).
When protected
4 of Agde’s monuments were protected in 1965
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Etienne. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 4 were protected in 1965 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
10 people born in Agde before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Claude Terrisse
Louis Charles Armand Fouquet de Belle-Isle
Hilaire Benoît Reynaud
Madame Saqui
Gustave de Girard
Jacques Coste-Floret
Claude Choletton
Ernest Azéma
Louis Azéma
Jean Félix
155016001650170017501800185019001950
LC
Louis Charles Armand Fouquet de Belle-Isle1693–1747 · French general and diplomat
MS
Madame Saqui1786–1866 · French tightrope walker
CT
Claude Terrisse1598–1673 · French privateer
HB
Hilaire Benoît Reynaud1772–1855 · French officer
GG
Gustave de Girard1805–1863 · French politician
JC
Jacques Coste-Floret1814–1890 · French politician
CC
Claude Choletton1830–1890 · French military personnel
EA
Ernest Azéma1871–1917 · French painter
Everyone born in Agde Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Agde has the 5th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 28,600 to 31,300 residents, by historic monuments.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Agde
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agde | 29,939 | 17 | 4 | Yes |
| Vias | 5,952 | 4 | 1 | — |
| Marseillan | 8,414 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bessan | 5,838 | 3 | 0 | — |
| Florensac | 5,254 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Portiragnes | 3,530 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Saint-Thibéry | 3,132 | 3 | 2 | — |
In brief
Agde in brief
Ancienne église Saint-André, from the 11th century, is the oldest monument in Agde. All told, the list holds 17 historic monuments, 4 of them classé, including Villa dite château Laurens. Its classé monuments cluster together: 3 of them stand within 400 m of Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Etienne. In 2019 the Mission Patrimoine picked Fort Brescou as a monument in danger to save.
Only 4 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2004. Of the 17 with a date, 11 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. The rest is about typical: per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns; and 7.4% 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 Agde
How many historic monuments are there in Agde?
The Culture ministry lists 17 historic monuments in Agde: 4 classé and 13 inscrit.
Which monuments in Agde are classé?
4, among them Ancien évêché ou ancien palais épiscopal, Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Etienne, Anciens remparts and Villa dite château Laurens.
How old are the monuments of Agde?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Agde a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Agde has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2004.
When were monuments in Agde first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2011.
How old are the homes in Agde?
7.4% 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.