Ancienne abbaye de Moutons · Photo: Xfigpower · CC BY-SA 3.08 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2025
The Culture ministry lists 8 historic monuments in Avranches: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 7 inscrit (the second level). That’s 7.9 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 81% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 8 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Avranches in 8 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Demeure dite le DoyennéClassé
Anciennes fortificationsInscrit
Chapelle Saint-Georges-de-BouilléInscrit
Maison à pans de boisInscrit
Statue de ValhubertInscrit+3See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Avranches has had a protected historic area since 2025
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| Not numbered yet | AVAP June 23, 2025 | AVAP (heritage area rules) June 23, 2025 |
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.
Where Avranches’ 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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
One classé monument in Avranches
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé7 inscrit monuments in Avranches
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
InscritHow old Avranches’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
4 of 8 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Chapelle Saint-Georges-de-Bouillé (11th & 12th c.).
21 people born in Avranches before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Avranches Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Avranches has the 6th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 10,000 to 10,300 residents, by historic monuments.
The median town of these has 1. 13 of the 41 have none.
Historic monuments in the towns around Avranches
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avranches | 10,143 | 8 | 1 | Yes |
| Ducey-Les Chéris | 2,784 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Sartilly-Baie-Bocage | 2,778 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Isigny-le-Buat | 3,183 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Pontorson | 4,280 | 5 | 1 | — |
| Saint-James | 5,018 | 4 | 1 | — |
| Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny | 3,903 | 3 | 1 | Yes |
Avranches in brief
Avranches’s oldest monument, Chapelle Saint-Georges-de-Bouillé, dates from the 11th century. In all there are 8 historic monuments, 1 of them classé, including Demeure dite le Doyenné. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 81% of compared French towns. Only 5 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2025. Of the 8 with a date, 4 come from the Middle Ages. Of the 21 people born here before 1900, the best known include Jean-Marie Valhubert (1764), Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour (1827) and Marie Lucas-Robiquet (1858). Beyond that, most entries are churches and religious buildings; the list grew between 1935 and 2007; and 10% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
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 Avranches
How many historic monuments are there in Avranches?
The Culture ministry lists 8 historic monuments in Avranches: 1 classé and 7 inscrit.
Which monuments in Avranches are classé?
One: Demeure dite le Doyenné.
How old are the monuments of Avranches?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Avranches a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Avranches has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2025.
When were monuments in Avranches first protected?
The first in 1935, the latest in 2007.
How old are the homes in Avranches?
10% 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.