Skip to content
The image shows the exterior of a stone building with a sign above the entrance reading "MAIRIE" (French for town hall), featuring shuttered windows, flower boxes, and a gravel courtyard viewed through metal gates.

Urban Exploration

Historic Towns

Historic Towns in France

  • 107 places
  • across 64 destinations
CC0 • Photo by Benoît Prieur via Wikimedia Commons

Historic Towns in France

Showing 13–24 of 107

A tall, ornate stone bell tower (the Tour de l'Horloge) rises behind a statue of Alfred de Vigny in a paved town square in Loches, France.

Loches, Centre-Val de Loire

Marché de Loches

Weekly market in the historic Royal City

Free

The image shows the ruins of ancient stone walls and foundations, likely part of a historical complex, with adjacent buildings featuring red-tiled roofs and white-framed windows under a blue sky.

Souvigny, Auvergne

Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul

12th-century priory church in Souvigny, Bourbonnais
The image shows a golden reliquary shrine containing a relic wrapped in red cloth, set against a vaulted ceiling painted with stars and geometric patterns, with three golden statues flanking the base.

Vezelay, Burgundy

Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine

UNESCO Romanesque basilica and Crusade starting point

Free

A stone chapel with a bell gable stands within a graveyard under a large tree.

Locronan, Brittany

Chapel of Saint-Jean

Chapel in Locronan, Brittany, France
A wide, calm canal with tour boats docked along the right bank, lined with green trees and buildings under a clear sky; one boat displays "Le Cocagne 4h".

Carcassonne, Midi-Pyrénées

Canal du Midi

UNESCO site with Fresquel aqueduct and locks
A view of stone fortification walls and grassy ramparts with a playground and mountainous background.

Briançon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Citadelle de Briançon

UNESCO-listed Vauban fortifications

From €5

The image shows the dimly lit interior nave of a large stone church, featuring tall columns, arched windows, and rows of wooden chairs facing an altar area with a stained-glass window at the far end.

Provins, Île-de-France

Collegiate Church of Saint-Quintin

Medieval Romanesque-Gothic church with a classical dome
Place Kléber, Strasbourg's largest square

Strasbourg, Alsace

Place Kléber

UNESCO heart of Strasbourg, home to the city's Christmas ...

Free

A view of a harbor lined with multi-story buildings featuring shuttered windows and terracotta roofs, with several boats moored in the foreground under a partly cloudy sky.

Cassis, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Port de Cassis

Port in village with highest French maritime cliff

Free

A stone medieval fortified bridge with three prominent towers and multiple arches spanning a river, set against a backdrop of green hills under a cloudy sky.

Cahors, Midi-Pyrénées

Pont Valentré

14th-century fortified bridge over the Lot
A close-up photograph of a weathered stone architectural frieze featuring carved relief sculptures within arched niches, set into an aged masonry wall.

Valence, Rhône-Alpes

Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire

Valence's oldest monument, listed historic site
A panoramic landscape view of a town nestled in a river valley with a prominent cluster of historic buildings perched on a rocky cliff overlooking the settlement below.

Ornans, Franche-Comté

Château de Ornans

6th-century fortress on the Loue riverbank

Historic Towns Overview

Interest Historic Towns
Attractions 107 places
About

Historic Towns in France

Top Regions
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (18) Brittany (14) Alsace (10)

Book your stay