ClasséArchaeological site · protected 1987Fanum des ChâteliersPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chevaldin Gilles · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église paroissiale Saint-Florentin · Photo: Avi1111 dr. avishai teicher · CC BY-SA 4.025historic monuments
History of Amboise · Monuments historiques
25 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2017. The Culture ministry lists 25 historic monuments in Amboise: 10 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 15 inscrit (the second level). That’s 19 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 95% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 22 of them.
Monuments historiques
25
19 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
10
the highest protection
Inscrit
15
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
11%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Amboise in 22 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
ChâteauClassé
Château du Clos-LucéClassé
Chapelle Saint-JeanClassé
Église collégiale Saint-DenisClassé
Domaine de ChanteloupClassé+17See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
How old
How old Amboise’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.3
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.9
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution11
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19011
12 of 25 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Oppidum protohistorique des Châteliers (Prehistory).
Map
Where Amboise’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Château
4 of 10classé monuments stand within 400 m of Château, with 11 of the town’s 25 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
25 monuments by protection
10 Classé15 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.
Classé
10 classé monuments in Amboise
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 10 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséTown walls · protected 1986Remparts et fossés gauloisPhoto: Joël Thibault · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséChurch · protected 1968Église collégiale Saint-DenisPhoto: Rensi sur Wikipédia allemand · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFortified house · protected 1928Tour de l'HorlogePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséChurch · protected 1963Église paroissiale Saint-FlorentinPhoto: Avi1111 dr. avishai teicher · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséResidence · protected 1937Domaine de ChanteloupPart of the building is protectedPhoto: attribué à Louis-Nicolas Van Blarenberghe · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChâteau · protected 1840Château, place du ChâteauPhoto: W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
15 inscrit monuments in Amboise
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 15, A to Z
Ancien prieuré Saint-ThomasChâteau GaillardCimetière, rue des UrsulinesÉglise Notre-Dame-du-Bout-des-Ponts ou Notre-Dame-de-GrâceEolienne BolléeFontaine de Max ErnstHôtel du 16e siècleHôtel du 17e siècleHôtel JoyeuseMaison à pans de boisMaison à pans de boisMaison à pans de bois du 15e siècleOppidum protohistorique des ChâteliersSilos dits Greniers de CésarTour d'enceinte
1 more, named only by its kind
One more is named in the list only by its kind: 1 other, most from the 18th century. The one with an address is in the list above, by it.
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Amboise
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes12
Religious buildings5
Military & fortified1
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 12 of 25 monuments (48%). 5 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 4 have no domain on the list.
Protected area
Amboise has 2 protected historic areas
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR24-16 | AVAP January 23, 2017 | AVAP (heritage area rules) January 23, 2017 |
| SPR24-17 | Secteur sauvegardé July 21, 1989 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) February 18, 2002 |
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. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
When protected
6 of Amboise’s monuments were protected in 1948
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1948 · 6
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
The first was protected in 1840. 6 were protected in 1948 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
20 people born in Amboise before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Colin Biart
Charles VIII
Jean Commire
André Portier
Jacques Cormier de La Picardière
Nicolas Baudeau
Barnabé Guimard
Jacques-Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy
Louis François Denis Calmelet-Daen
Noël Jacques de Perceval-Vietinghoff
David Buhl
François Cantagrel
Georges-Charles d'Amboise
Charles Guinot
Eugène Pic-Pâris
Fabien Henri Alasonière
Maurice Allard
Victor Auger
Lucie Faure-Goyau
Fernand Angibault
1500165018001950
CB
Colin Biart1460–1525 · French architect
CV
Charles VIII1470–1498 · King of France from 1483 to 1498
NB
Nicolas Baudeau1730–1792 · French economist
BG
Barnabé Guimard1739–1805 · French architect
JP
Jacques-Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy1751–1830 · French politician
FC
François Cantagrel1810–1887 · French politician
LF
Lucie Faure-Goyau1866–1913 · French writer and poet
JC
Jean Commire1625–1702 · French writer
Everyone born in Amboise Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Amboise has the 4th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 12,600 to 13,300 residents, by historic monuments.
Amboise25
#4 of 41for monuments per resident (19 per 10,000). Most per resident: Châteaudun, Autun and Bayeux.
The median town of these has 2. 8 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Amboise
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amboise | 12,937 | 25 | 10 | Yes |
| Nazelles-Négron | 3,776 | 4 | 0 | — |
| La Croix-en-Touraine | 2,543 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Saint-Martin-le-Beau | 3,216 | 3 | 0 | — |
| Bléré | 5,352 | 4 | 3 | — |
| Athée-sur-Cher | 2,855 | 6 | 1 | — |
| Vernou-sur-Brenne | 2,870 | 6 | 2 | — |
In brief
Amboise in brief
The record in Amboise starts with Oppidum protohistorique des Châteliers, which dates from prehistory. In all there are 25 historic monuments, 10 of them classé, including Église paroissiale Saint-Florentin. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 95% of compared French towns. Only 3 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Parts of it lie in 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first protected in 2017. Of the 20 people born here before 1900, the best known include Colin Biart (1460), Charles VIII (1470) and Nicolas Baudeau (1730). Beyond that, 11% 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 Amboise
How many historic monuments are there in Amboise?
The Culture ministry lists 25 historic monuments in Amboise: 10 classé and 15 inscrit.
Which monuments in Amboise are classé?
10, among them Fanum des Châteliers, Remparts et fossés gaulois, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Église collégiale Saint-Denis, Tour de l'Horloge and Château du Clos-Lucé.
How old are the monuments of Amboise?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Amboise a protected historic area?
Yes: Amboise has 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first since 2017.
When were monuments in Amboise first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2023.
How old are the homes in Amboise?
11% 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 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.