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The image shows the stone ramparts and towers of a medieval fortified city under a blue sky, with tourists walking along the walkways and near an arched gateway; a conical-roofed tower and distant landscape are visible in the background.

Things to do in France

Historic Architecture

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  • across 126 destinations
CC BY-SA 4.0 • Photo by Krzysztof Golik via Wikimedia Commons

Historic Architecture in France

Showing 217–228 of 478

The former bishop's palace in Chartres that houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts

Chartres, Centre-Val de Loire

Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts)

Fine arts museum in the former bishop's palace
A dark, tunnel-like interior with rough rock walls, illuminated by red LED strip lights along the floor and leading toward a metal staircase at the far end.

Salers, Auvergne

Musée des Volcans

Volcanoes museum in a former Knights Templar house
The façade of the Petit Palais museum on the Place du Palais, Avignon

Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Musée du Petit Palais

Medieval and Renaissance art in the archbishops' palace
A wide-angle view of a grand, symmetrical 18th-century European square with classical stone buildings, arched ground floors, and a central pavilion topped by a dome and spire; people are walking or sitting on benches across the cobblestone plaza u

Bordeaux, Aquitaine

Place de la Bourse

18th-century royal square with iconic water mirror

Free

A tall, rectangular medieval stone tower with a pyramidal tiled roof, situated in a village setting with adjacent buildings and parked cars.

Riquewihr, Alsace

Tour des Voleurs (Thieves' Tower)

Medieval watchtower in Riquewihr

From €5

The image shows the interior of a church featuring distinctive red zigzag-patterned columns, colorful frescoes, and stained glass windows, with a visible Latin inscription on the wall reading "HIC FUIT ECCLESIA SANCTI GERMANI" (Here was the Church

Concarneau, Brittany

Église Saint-Germain

Catholic church in Concarneau, France
The image shows the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Upper Basilica) perched atop a rocky cliff in Lourdes, France, with the Grotto of Massabielle visible at its base and crowds of visitors below.

Lourdes, Midi-Pyrénées

Basilica of St. Pius X (Lower Basilica)

Underground basilica holding 25,000 visitors
A large white basilica with a prominent central dome and two smaller flanking domes, featuring Romano-Byzantine architecture, situated atop a hill with wide staircases and terraced gardens in the foreground under a clear blue sky.

Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

Unfinished 1920 basilica with modernist aesthetic

Free

The interior of a grand stone church featuring a prominent marble and gold pulpit, arched colonnades, hanging chandeliers, and French flags.

Pau, Aquitaine

Cathédrale Saint-Louis

19th-century church in Pau

Free

Grand Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon from the Rhône

Lyon, Rhône-Alpes

Hospices Civils de Lyon

France's second university hospital, founded 1802
A large, classical-style white building with a pediment, columns, and a banner reading "Chalon au fil de l'été" and "Hôtel de Ville" above the entrance.

Chalon-sur-saone, Burgundy

Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall)

19th-century neoclassical town hall
A stone fortress with a prominent arched gateway and terraced ramparts sits atop a grassy hill, overlooking a waterfront promenade with buildings featuring terracotta roofs and a French flag flying.

Bayonne, Aquitaine

La Citadelle

17th-century Vauban fortress in Bayonne

Historic Architecture Overview

Interest Historic Architecture
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Historic Architecture

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Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (41) Île-de-France (33) Burgundy (28)

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