The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. France accepted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on 27 June 1975.
Out of 56 properties currently listed in France, 47 are cultural sites, 7 are natural, and 2 are (mixed), listed both for their cultural and natural significance. Of these sites, 50 are in the Metropolitan France while six are overseas. In addition, six properties are shared with other countries: Pyrénées – Mont Perdu is shared with Spain; Belfries of Belgium and France is shared with Belgium; Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps is shared with five countries; The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier is shared with six countries; Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front) is shared with Belgium; Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is shared with 17 countries. The first five sites in France were added to the list in 1979 while the most recent, the Beaches of the D-Day Landings and the Royal Capetian Fortresses of Languedoc, were added in 2026. France also has 32 sites on its tentative list. France has served on the World Heritage Committee five times. With 56 World Heritage Sites, France ranks third worldwide by number of sites, behind Italy and China.
World Heritage Sites UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.