ClasséHospital · protected 1964Hôtel DieuPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Tangopaso · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Maison · Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.022historic monuments
History of Tournus · Monuments historiques
22 historic monuments, more per resident than 98% of compared French towns
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The Culture ministry lists 22 historic monuments in Tournus: 9 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 13 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 1st century. We have photos of 21 of them.
Monuments historiques
22
39 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
9
the highest protection
Inscrit
13
the second level
Oldest part
1st c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
24%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Tournus in 21 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
MaisonClassé
Immeuble dit hôtel de Lacroix-LavalClassé
Hôtel DieuClassé
Maison dite de l'EscargotClassé
Chapelle Saint-LaurentClassé+16See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Towns its size
Tournus has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 5,700 to 5,700 residents, by historic monuments.
Tournus22
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (39 per 10,000). Most per resident: Tournus, Saint-Martin-la-Pallu and Altkirch.
The median town of these has 1. 16 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Tournus’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Immeuble dit hôtel de Lacroix-Laval
8 of 9classé monuments stand within 400 m of Immeuble dit hôtel de Lacroix-Laval, with 20 of the town’s 22 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
22 monuments by protection
9 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.
Classé
9 classé monuments in Tournus
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 7 of the 9 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséAbbey · protected 1840Ancienne abbaye Saint-PhilibertPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Daniel VILLAFRUELA · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1922Immeuble dit hôtel de Lacroix-LavalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Clément Bucco-Lechat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1931Maison dite de l'EscargotPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Tangopaso · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown hall · protected 1927Hôtel de villePart of the building is protectedPhoto: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséHouse · protected 1927Maison, place de l'Hôtel-de-VillePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1927Maison, 4 rue du MidiPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Clément Bucco-Lechat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
13 inscrit monuments in Tournus
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
Caserne (ancienne)Église de la MadeleineÉglise Saint-Valérien (ancienne)Immeuble à arcadesMaison ou immeubleMaison, 13 place LacretelleMaison, 13 rue de la République-CentreMaison, 15 rue de la République-CentreMaison, 62 rue de la République-NordMaison, 63 rue de la République-CentreMaison, 8 rue Désiré-Mathivet, anciennement 8 rue de la République-MidiMaison, rue de la RépubliquePresbytère de Lambres (ancien)
7 more, named only by their kind
7 more are named in the list only by their kind: 7 houses (maisons), most from the 15th century. The 7 with an address are in the list above, by it.
12th c.1
15th c.3
16th c.1
17th c.1
18th c.1
What’s protected
Most of Tournus’ monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes14
Religious buildings4
Public & civic2
Military & fortified1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Houses & homes: 14 of 22 monuments (64%). 4 are religious buildings, 2 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old
How old Tournus’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.9
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution8
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19010
10 of 18 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Hôtel Dieu (1st & 17th c.). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Tournus
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR27-62 | Secteur sauvegardé November 9, 2000 | Still being drawn up |
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.
When protected
6 of Tournus’ monuments were protected in 1948
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1948 · 61927 · 5
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne abbaye Saint-Philibert. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 6 were protected in 1948 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
24% of homes in Tournus were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
24%
Before 1919
10%
1919–45
25%
1946–70
24%
1971–90
9.1%
1991–2005
7.9%
2006 on
TournusMedian compared French town
24% 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 (25%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Tournus
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournus | 5,701 | 22 | 9 | Yes |
| Sennecey-le-Grand | 2,895 | 6 | 1 | — |
| Ouroux-sur-Saône | 3,214 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Rémy | 6,410 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Marcel | 6,211 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Cluny | 4,942 | 29 | 12 | Yes |
| Feillens Ain | 3,411 | 1 | 1 | — |
In brief
Tournus in brief
For its size, Tournus has more historic monuments than 98% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 22 historic monuments, 9 of them classé. No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population. Of its homes, 24% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Its classé monuments cluster together: 8 of them stand within 400 m of Immeuble dit hôtel de Lacroix-Laval. Most entries on the list, 64%, are houses and homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the Middle Ages: 9 of 18.
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 Tournus
How many historic monuments are there in Tournus?
The Culture ministry lists 22 historic monuments in Tournus: 9 classé and 13 inscrit.
Which monuments in Tournus are classé?
9, among them Hôtel Dieu, Ancienne abbaye Saint-Philibert, Immeuble dit hôtel de Lacroix-Laval, Maison dite de l'Escargot, Hôtel de ville and Chapelle Saint-Laurent.
How old are the monuments of Tournus?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 1st century.
Is Tournus a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Tournus is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Tournus first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2020.
How old are the homes in Tournus?
24% 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.