History in France

Discover 27 places to experience unusual history in France.

Loyasse Cemetery

The first modern cemetery of Lyon is complete with more than 200 chapels and monuments.

Execution Site of Jacques de Molay

The approximate spot where the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar was put to death.

Givenchy-en-Gohelle, France

Canadian National Vimy Memorial

A monument to the thousands of Canadian soldiers who died capturing the French ridge during World War I.

Gennevilliers, France

Grave of Philibert Aspairt

The tombstone of an unfortunate explorer who disappeared in the Paris Catacombs.

Falaise, France

Château de Falaise

The birthplace of the ferocious William the Conqueror, this castle is awash in medieval history.

Tower of Joan of Arc

This medieval tower is all that remains of the castle where Joan of Arc was held before being burned at the stake.

Bayeux Tapestry

This enormous "cloth of the conquest" depicts the Norman invasion of England in mind-blowing detail.

Orschwiller, France

Haut-Kœnigsbourg Castle

The castle was reconstructed to fit Kaiser Wilhelm II's romanticized vision of the Middle Ages.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France

The Venus of Brassempouy

This prehistoric figurine is the oldest known realistic depiction of a human face.

Gouville-sur-Mer, France

Gouville-sur-Mer Beach Huts

Rows of multicolored bathing huts paint the sand dunes with pops of color.

Villerouge-Termenès, France

Cathar Castles

The site of the first medieval crusade that pitted Christians against Christians.

Saint-Denis, France

Art Workshop of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux

This hidden workshop is filled with molds of France's most iconic sculptures.

Grave of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier

The tomb of history's greatest potato promoter is surrounded by tubers.

Treaty of Paris Plaque

A simple plaque on the facade is the only reminder that the treaty ending the American Revolution was signed inside.

Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois, France

Ruins of Abbey of Saint-Evroul

This 1,400-year-old abbey was once a powerhouse for music and intellectualism known across Normandy.

Fountain of Innocents

A 16th-century fountain marks the site of a lost medieval cemetery once filled with mass graves.