ClasséCathedral · protected 1997Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-SedsPhoto: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église Saint-Louis · Photo: Rvalette · CC BY-SA 3.025historic monuments
History of Toulon · Monuments historiques
25 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1997
The Culture ministry lists 25 historic monuments in Toulon: 7 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 18 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 10th century. That’s 1.4 for every 10,000 residents; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 18 of them.
Monuments historiques
25
1.4 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
7
the highest protection
Inscrit
18
the second level
Oldest part
10th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
9.1%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Toulon in 18 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne corderieClassé
Église Saint-François-de-PauleClassé
Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-SedsClassé
Fort de la Grosse-Tour, dit aussi Tour RoyaleClassé
Ancien Hôtel de ville, actuellement office de tourismeClassé+13See 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
Toulon has had a protected historic area since 1997
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR93-43 | ZPPAUP December 12, 1997 | AVAP (heritage area rules) May 28, 2014 |
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 Toulon’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-Seds
4 of 7classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-Seds, with 7 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
7 Classé18 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
7 classé monuments in Toulon
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 7 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséFort · protected 1947Fort de la Grosse-Tour, dit aussi Tour RoyalePhoto: Greg68m · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown hall · protected 1914Ancien Hôtel de ville, actuellement office de tourismePart of the building is protectedPhoto: David Monniaux · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMilitary building · protected 1911Ancienne corderiePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Rvalette · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 1910Musée de la MarinePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pinpin · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1942Église Saint-François-de-PaulePhoto: Siren-Com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséInscrit
18 inscrit monuments in Toulon
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 18, A to Z
Ancienne ComédieCaserne retranchée du FaronCercle naval (ancien)Ecole élémentaire des Trois-QuartiersÉvêché (ancien)Fort du Grand Saint-Antoine, sis colline du FaronFort FaronFort Saint-LouisHôpital Chalucet et jardin public Alexandre IerJardin de rocaille de la maison NobleMonument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918Pavillon de la Consigne et sa grille d'entréePorte d'ItaliePorte Malbousquet, anciennement Porte GambinRetranchement dit Crémaillère du FaronStatue avec sa niche et sa vasque servant d'ornement à une pièce d'eauThéâtre-OpéraTour Beaumont, située Colline du Mont-Faron, actuel Mémorial du débarquement en Provence
What’s protected
Military buildings are the largest group in Toulon
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Military & fortified12
Religious buildings4
Houses & homes1
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Bridges & engineering1
Military & fortified: 12 of 25 monuments (48%). 4 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 5 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Toulon’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.1
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution9
19th century 1801–19006
20th century and later since 19012
1 of 18 dated monuments has parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-Seds (17th & 18th c.). 7 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Toulon’s list has grown since 1910
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1910: Musée de la Marine. 3 were protected in 2014 alone. 7 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
114 people born in Toulon before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry
Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville
Louis-Michel van Loo
Joseph-Marie Amiot
Joseph Bernard de Chabert
Louis-André de Beaussier de Châteauvert
Étienne Pélabon
Laurent Truguet
Édouard Thomas Burgues de Missiessy
Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges
Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville
Louis-Joseph Daumas
Charles Jules Adolphe Thanaron
Pierre-Gustave Roze
Auguste Aiguier
Théophile Aube
Marie-Charles David de Mayréna
Édouard Marie Heckel
André-Joseph Allar
Jean Aicard
1650170017501800185019001950
GJ
Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry1682–1756 · Louis XV's Chief Engineer of New France
MA
Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville1700–1778 · Governor of New France
LM
Louis-Michel van Loo1707–1771 · French painter
JM
Joseph-Marie Amiot1718–1793 · French sinologist and missionary
JB
Joseph Bernard de Chabert1724–1805 · French Navy officer, astronomer and mathematician
LA
Louis-André de Beaussier de Châteauvert1725–1789 · French Navy officer of the 18th century
ÉP
Étienne Pélabon1745–1808 · French writer
LT
Laurent Truguet1752–1839 · French admiral
Everyone born in Toulon Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Toulon
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulon | 179,116 | 25 | 7 | Yes |
| Le Revest-les-Eaux | 4,074 | 1 | 0 | — |
| La Valette-du-Var | 23,719 | 2 | 0 | — |
| La Seyne-sur-Mer | 63,732 | 4 | 0 | Yes |
| Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer | 6,000 | 1 | 0 | — |
| La Garde | 26,476 | 4 | 1 | — |
| Ollioules | 14,568 | 3 | 2 | — |
In brief
Toulon in brief
Toulon’s oldest monument, Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-Seds, dates from the 10th century. In all there are 25 historic monuments, 7 of them classé, including Église Saint-Louis. Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-Seds sits at the heart of it all, with 4 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1997.
Of the 18 with a date, 9 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. Of the 114 people born here before 1900, the best known include Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry (1682), Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville (1700) and Louis-Michel van Loo (1707). Beyond that, it has 25 historic monuments, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 65); per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns; and 9.1% 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 Toulon
How many historic monuments are there in Toulon?
The Culture ministry lists 25 historic monuments in Toulon: 7 classé and 18 inscrit.
Which monuments in Toulon are classé?
7, among them Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-la-Seds, Fort de la Grosse-Tour, dit aussi Tour Royale, Ancien Hôtel de ville, actuellement office de tourisme, Ancienne corderie, Musée de la Marine and Église Saint-François-de-Paule.
How old are the monuments of Toulon?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
Is Toulon a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Toulon has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1997.
When were monuments in Toulon first protected?
The first in 1910, the latest in 2021.
How old are the homes in Toulon?
9.1% 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.