Palais de l'Archevêché ou de la Berbie · Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0A secteur sauvegardé since 1968, and 37 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 37 historic monuments in Albi: 8 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 29 inscrit (the second level). That’s 7.2 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 79% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 32 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Albi in 32 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Cathédrale Sainte-CécileClassé
Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Drèche (également sur communes de Cagnac-les-Mines et Lescure-d'Albigeois)Classé
Vieux pontClassé
Maison EnjalbertClassé
ImmeubleClassé+27See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Albi has had a protected historic area since 1968
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR76-101 | Secteur sauvegardé January 19, 1968 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) January 21, 1993 |
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.
Where Albi’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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
8 classé monuments in Albi
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 4 of the 8 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
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Classé29 inscrit monuments in Albi
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 28, A to Z
15 more, named only by their kind
15 more are named in the list only by their kind: 10 houses (maisons), 3 buildings (immeubles) and 2 others, most from the 16th and 17th centuries. The 14 with an address are in the list above, by it.
Most of Albi’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 23 of 37 monuments (62%). 6 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
How old Albi’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
10 of 35 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Vieux pont (11th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Albi’s list has grown since 1846
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1846: Église Saint-Salvy et son cloître. 5 were protected in 1924 alone. 3 have been added since 2011.
42 people born in Albi before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Albi Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Albi has the 8th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 47,200 to 55,600 residents, by historic monuments.
Historic monuments in the towns around Albi
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albi | 51,290 | 37 | 8 | Yes |
| Lescure-d'Albigeois | 4,590 | 3 | 2 | — |
| Puygouzon | 3,548 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Juéry | 6,564 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Arthès | 2,528 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Cagnac-les-Mines | 2,621 | 3 | 0 | — |
| Marssac-sur-Tarn | 3,518 | 2 | 0 | — |
Albi in brief
Albi’s old center has been a secteur sauvegardé, the strictest protection France gives a historic town, since 1968. In all there are 37 historic monuments, 8 of them classé, including Palais de l'Archevêché ou de la Berbie. Palais de l'Archevêché ou de la Berbie is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The oldest is Vieux pont, from the 11th century.
Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 79% of compared French towns. Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile sits at the heart of it all, with 7 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Only 7 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Beyond that, 8.7% 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 Albi
How many historic monuments are there in Albi?
The Culture ministry lists 37 historic monuments in Albi: 8 classé and 29 inscrit.
Which monuments in Albi are classé?
8, among them Vieux pont, Église Saint-Salvy et son cloître, Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile, Maison des Viguiers, dite hôtel Reynès ou maison Guise, Palais de l'Archevêché ou de la Berbie and Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Drèche (également sur communes de Cagnac-les-Mines et Lescure-d'Albigeois).
How old are the monuments of Albi?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Albi a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Albi has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1968.
When were monuments in Albi first protected?
The first in 1846, the latest in 2018.
How old are the homes in Albi?
8.7% 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.