Favourite Monuments of France 2022

Mary Anne — Thu, 26 May 2022 16:41:14 +0000

Favourite Monuments of France might seem like yet another list but this one is a list with a difference. They are voted for by the French themselves, a nation that loves lists and classifications of their cities. Think of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, or the towns that qualify for Villes d’Art et Culture and you get the general idea.

Place Stanislas in Nancy © Nicolas Cornet/CC-BY-SA 3.0

The Favourite Monument of France (Monument préféré des Français 2022 which really translates as the favourite monument of the French) is a project run by France 3 TV Chanel. 42 places were listed and the French voted on France Télévisions at the end of May.

Last year’s winner was the Place Stanislas in Nancy. What will win this year?

After this first vote, 14 places (one for each chosen region) are selected for the finals. The winner will be announced, probably on the European Patrimony days on September 17 and 18 but the TV channel has not confirmed that yet.

So what about those monuments? It could be a château, a museum, a place, an ancient site, a work of civil engineering… Three from each region are on the list.

Favourite Monument of France 2022 follows on from France 3 tv channel where Stéphane Bern asks the audience to vote for the Village préféré des Français (Preferred village of the French).

I know most of them but not all. It’s an intriguing list and I’ll add the few I haven’t seen to my must-see attractions.

The 42 Favourite Monuments of France List

The list is alphabetical with the name of the monument followed by the town/village/location and the department. There are links to the departments I have written about.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Le Puy en Velay Public domain via Wikimedia

Rocher et Chapelle Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe (Rock and Chapel Saint Michel d’Aiguilhe). Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire

Villa La Casamaures (La Casamaures Villa). Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux, Isère

Moulin à papier Richard de Bas (Richard de Bas Paper Mill). Ambert, Puy-de-Dôme

Of course I hope that Le Puy will win. It’s my local town in the rural, remote and beautiful Auvergne!

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Fontenay Abbey

Maison de Louis Pasteur (Louis Pasteur’s house). Arbois, Jura

Abbaye de Fontenay (Fontenay Abbey). Marmagne, Côte-d’Or

Château de Bazoches. Bazouches-du-Morvan, Nièvre

Brittany

Chateau du Taureau © Alexandre Lamoureux Brittany Tourism

Chapelle de la Maison Saint-Yves (Chapel of the Saint-Yves Seminary). Saint-Brieu, Côtes-d’Armor

Château du Taureau. Plouezoc’h, Finistère

More about the glorious Islands of Brittany.

Haras national d’Hennebont. Hennebont, Morbihan

Centre-Val-de-Loire

Azay-Le-Rideau © Mary Anne Evans

Domaine de George Sand (George Sand’s House). Nohant-Vic, Indre

Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, Azay-le-Rideau, Indre-et-Loire

A road trip in the Loire Valley taking in this beautiful château

Palais Jacques Cœur. Bourges, Cher

Corsica

Calvi from the Citadelle © Chabe01/CC-BY-SA 4.0

Maison Bonaparte (Bonaparte’s Home). Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud

Napoleon’s France – His life, achievements and last days

Site préhistorique de Filitosa (Filitosa prehistoric site). Sollacaro, Corse-du-Sud

Citadelle de Calvi. Calvi, Haute-Corse

Grand-Est

Parc de Wesserling Eco museum

Parc de Wesserling. Husseren-Wesserling, Haut-Rhin

Musée de la Faïence et Moulin de la Blies (Earthenware Museum and La Blies mill). Sarreguemines, Moselle

Fort de Schœnenbourg. Hunspach et Ingolsheim, Bas-Rhin

Hauts-de-France

Lewarde Mining Museum © Jérémy Jännick/CC-BY-SA 1.2

Centre historique minier de Lewarde (Mining History Centre). Lewarde, Nord

Domaine de Chaalis. Fontaine-Chaalis, Oise

Hortillonnages d’Amiens (Marsh market gardens of Amiens). Amiens, Rivery, Camon et Longueau, Somme

Île de France

Vaux-le-Vicomte © F. Jaumier

Basilique de Saint-Denis. Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis

If you’re in Paris, check out the famous Saint-Denis Festival of Music in June and early July

Colonne de Juillet et Génie de la Liberté (July column of the Spirit of Freedom). 11th arrondissement, Paris

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Maincy, Seine-et-Marne

Normandy

Benedictine Palace © Zairon/CC-BY-SA 4.0

Palais Bénédictine. Fécamp, Seine-Maritime

Gare transatlantique de Cherbourg et Sous-Marin Le Redoutable (Cherbourg Maritime Station and the Submarine Le Redoutable). Cherbourg-en-Contentin, Manche

Château de Carrouges. Carrouges, Orne

More about the region in the Normandy Travel Guide