France's 56 World Heritage properties and its Tentative List of 31 sites

Country Focus Background Art, Culture & History

France's 56 World Heritage properties and its Tentative List of 31 sites

Background

UNESCO's States Parties page for France records the Acceptance of the Convention as Friday, 27 June 1975; acceptance is one of the ways in which a State becomes party to the World Heritage Convention. France has 56 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. Of these, 47 are cultural, 7 are natural and 2 are mixed. A further 31 sites stand on France's Tentative List, which the page describes as an inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination. Inscribed French properties include Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay, the Palace and Park of Versailles, and Chartres Cathedral.

Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List: 56 Cultural properties: 47 Natural properties: 7 Mixed properties: 2 Sites on the Tentative List: 31 Acceptance of the Convention: Friday, 27 June 1975

Why it matters for exams: World Heritage counts are a standing question type for any Country Focus, and the split into cultural, natural and mixed properties, together with the Tentative List, is the part candidates most often confuse.

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2 October 2026 Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre Updated 10 October 2026

In plain words

Tentative List Tentative List — An inventory of the properties a State Party intends to consider for nomination to the World Heritage List.

Mixed property Mixed World Heritage property — A site inscribed for both cultural and natural value, so it is counted separately from the cultural and natural totals.