Help choose ‘France’s favourite monument’

People in France are invited to vote in this year’s competition for ‘France’s favourite monument’, with the winning site to be announced on the France 3 TV show of the same name.

Le Monument Préféré des Français show asks each voter to choose the monument that they consider to be the best representative of their region, ahead of the 41st heritage day event, les Journées Européennes du Patrimoine. 

The programme is presented by TV personality Stéphane Bern, who also presents the similar show, Le Village Préféré des Français, every year.

Voting for this year’s competition is open until midnight on May 24. Cast your vote on the France TV website page here. You can first choose a region, and then make your decision from the shortlist (below). You can only vote once from the same IP address (computer/location) - so make your choice carefully!

Last year’s winning monument was the Château Fort in Sedan, Ardennes (Grand Est).

After winning, the deputy mayor in charge of town planning and heritage in Sedan, Rachelle Louis, said: “It’s a tremendous spotlight on the Château and our town, the equivalent of a phenomenal advertising campaign that won't cost us a single euro.”

Almost two million people watched the 2023 TV final. This year’s show is scheduled to take place in early autumn.

The 2024 shortlist

The full shortlist for 2024 is as follows, organised by region, alphabetically: 

AUVERGNE-RHÔNE-ALPES

• Le Corbusier Firminy-Vert, Firminy, Loire

• Le Cuivrerie de Cerdon, Cerdon, Ain

BOURGOGNE-FRANCHE-COMTÉ

• La Saline royale, Arc-et-Senans, Doubs

• La Grande Forge, Buffon, Côte-d'Or

BRITTANY

• The Prison de Guingamp, Côtes-d'Armor

• Le Domaine de Trévarez, Saint-Goazec, Finistère

CENTRE-VAL DE LOIRE

• The Prieuré Saint-Cosme - Demeure de Ronsard, La Riche, Indre-et-Loire

• The Château de Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir

CORSICA

• The Parc de Saleccia, Monticello, Haute-Corse

• The Maison Bonaparte, Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud

GRAND EST

• The Maison forestière du Spitzberg, Dabo, Moselle

• The Sanctuaire du Mont Sainte-Odile, Ottrott, Bas-Rhin

HAUTS-DE-FRANCE

• Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, Pas-de-Calais

• The Beffroi de Douai, Nord

ÎLE-DE-FRANCE

• The Abbaye de Royaumont, Asnières-sur-Oise, Val-d'Oise

• The Château de Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne

NORMANDY

• The Château d’Eu - Musée Louis-Philippe, Seine-Maritime

• The Château and The Gardens of Boutemont, in Ouilly-le-Vicomte, Calvados

NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE

• The Château-Observatoire Abbadia, in Hendaye, Pyrénées-Atlantiques

• The Fort Louvois, Bourcefranc-le-Chapus, Charente-Maritime

OCCITANIE

• The Château Laurens, Agde, Hérault

• The Gouffre de Padirac, Lot

PAYS DE LA LOIRE

• The municipal Bains-Douches, Laval, Mayenne

• The 24 Hour Circuit of Le Mans, Sarthe

PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR

• La Villa and Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Alpes-Maritimes

• The Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône