ClasséChurch · protected 1989Église Saint-Martin-du-Bourg (ancienne)Photo: Ludovic Péron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chapelle Saint-Pierre · Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.09historic monuments
History of Avallon · Monuments historiques
9 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1995
The Culture ministry lists 9 historic monuments in Avallon: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 6 inscrit (the second level). That’s 14 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 91% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 12th century. We have photos of 8 of them.
Monuments historiques
9
14 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
3
the highest protection
Inscrit
6
the second level
Oldest part
12th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
17%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Avallon in 8 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Église Saint-Martin-du-Bourg (ancienne)Classé
Tour de l'HorlogeClassé
Église Saint-LazareClassé
RempartsInscrit
Hôtel Condé (ancien)Inscrit+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.
Protected area
Avallon has had a protected historic area since 1995
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR27-64 | ZPPAUP March 13, 1995 | ZPPAUP (heritage zone rules) September 12, 2006 |
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 Avallon’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscrit
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
9 monuments by protection
3 Classé6 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
3 classé monuments in Avallon
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.
ClasséFortified house · protected 1930Tour de l'HorlogePhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséInscrit
6 inscrit monuments in Avallon
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritTown house · protected 1990Hôtel Condé (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritHouse · protected 1925Maison à tourellePart of the building is protectedPhoto: photography taken by Christophe.Finot · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritTown walls · protected 1926RempartsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Johan Allard · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Monument · protected 2016Monument aux morts
How old
How old Avallon’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.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution1
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19011
3 of 5 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Église Saint-Martin-du-Bourg (ancienne) (12th c.). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
Age of homes
17% of homes in Avallon were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
17%
Before 1919
7.3%
1919–45
25%
1946–70
36%
1971–90
8.5%
1991–2005
5.8%
2006 on
AvallonMedian compared French town
17% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1971 and 1990 than in any other period (36%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
21 people born in Avallon before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Jean-Edme Boilleau
Antoine Vestier
Jacques Boilleau
Charles-Yves Cousin d'Avallon
François Louis Boudin de Roville
Pierre Joseph Habert
Pierre Andoche Febvre
Jean-Edme Michel Auguste Raudot
Auguste François Jean Finot
Charles Antoine Hippolyte Jordan
Jules Houdaille
Félicie Tiger
Charles Cousin
Étienne Henri Garnier
Anatole de Charmasse
Paul Chelles
Pierre Flye Sainte-Marie
Pierre Vigoureux
Robert Prévost
Maurice Baudier
170017501800185019001950
AV
Antoine Vestier1740–1824 · French painter
PJ
Pierre Joseph Habert1773–1825 · French general
PV
Pierre Vigoureux1884–1965 · French sculptor
RP
Robert Prévost1893–1967 · French painter
MB
Maurice Baudier1897–1932 · French association football player
JE
Jean-Edme Boilleau1738–1814 · French politician
JB
Jacques Boilleau1751–1793 · French politician
CY
Charles-Yves Cousin d'Avallon1769–1840 · French author
Everyone born in Avallon Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Avallon has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 6,200 to 6,400 residents, by historic monuments.
Avallon9
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (14 per 10,000). Most per resident: Avallon, Mornant and Baud.
The median town of these has 2. 11 of the 41 have none.
In brief
Avallon in brief
Few towns are as rich in historic monuments as Avallon: per resident it has more than 91% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 9 historic monuments, 3 of them classé, including Église Saint-Martin-du-Bourg (ancienne). No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population. Its housing is old: 17% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1995. Of the 5 with a date, 3 come from the Middle Ages. The oldest is Église Saint-Martin-du-Bourg (ancienne), from the 12th century. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: the list grew between 1840 and 2016.
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 Avallon
How many historic monuments are there in Avallon?
The Culture ministry lists 9 historic monuments in Avallon: 3 classé and 6 inscrit.
Which monuments in Avallon are classé?
3, among them Église Saint-Martin-du-Bourg (ancienne), Tour de l'Horloge and Église Saint-Lazare.
How old are the monuments of Avallon?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
Is Avallon a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Avallon has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1995.
When were monuments in Avallon first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2016.
How old are the homes in Avallon?
17% 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.