The memory of women and men who have distinguished themselves in the history of France is valued through the label "Maison des Illustres". Awarded by the Ministry of Culture, this label contributes to the conservation and transmission of the places that shape our country.
Presentation of the device
What is a House of Illustres?
Present in all metropolitan regions as in the French Overseas Territories, the Maisons des Illustres draw a real map of places where the history of our country has been shaped. These houses show how the heritage is a territory, living nourished by the personality of those who inhabited it leaving their trace.
The Houses of the Illustrious form a network of places of memory that continues to grow in order to connect local history and national history, the intimate and the collective. They reveal the role played by men and women on a political, religious, scientific or artistic level, the cultural dimension of which the Ministry of Culture intends to promote.
Objectives of the approach
Created in 2011, by the Ministry of Culture, the label «Maisons des Illustres» is intended to promote places whose vocation is to preserve and transmit the memory of the women and men who lived in them and distinguished themselves in political history, scientific, social and cultural of France.
The label guarantees visitors to the Maisons des Illustres:
- a quality cultural programme
- arrangements for accompanying the visit, adapted to everyone, especially the school public and persons with disabilities.
To date 253 houses have been labeled.
Would you like to know more about the Maisons des Illustres label? Go here:
Am I concerned by this approach?
- Associations
- Commons
- Departments
- Private companies
- Local public enterprises
- EPCI with own taxation
- Public institutions/ State services
- Research organisations
- Individuals
- Regions
To receive this label, the owner (public or private, legal or natural person) or the manager acting on his behalf of the building must file an application with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) on which the property depends.
The site must meet three conditions:
- have been inhabited by an illustrious person and have preserved a memory thereof
- have been open to the public at least 40 days per year
- not pursue a primarily commercial purpose
Commercial buildings, which are not open to the public for at least 40 days a year and have not been inhabited by an illustrious person, are not eligible.
Proceeding
The label "Maisons des Illustres" is awarded by prefectural decree.
The award of the "Maisons des Illustres" label will take into account:
- the national and local aura of the illustrious figure
- the authenticity of the place
- the cultural aspect
- the mechanism of mediations
- registration of the place in a tourist and/or cultural itinerary
The possibilities of welcoming disabled visitors may be taken into account when assessing the dossier.
Examples of places labelled "Maison des illustres"
To learn more about the labeled places, you can go to the dedicated interactive map.
The label "Maisons des Illustres" in the region
Please refer to the information below for more information on deposit arrangements and schedules in your region.
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, please contact:
DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
sophie.onimus-carrias@culture.gouv.fr
nicolas.douez@culture.gouv.fr
04 72 00 44 00
6 quai Saint-Vincent - Le Grenier d'Abondance, 69283 LYON 01
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, please contact:
DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
isabelle.collet@culture.gouv.fr
03 80 68 51 46
39-41 rue Vannerie - Hôtel Chartraire de Montigny, 21000 DIJON
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Brittany, please contact:
DRAC Bretagne
lionel.bergatto@culture.gouv.fr
02 99 29 67 67
Hôtel de Blossac 6, rue du Chapitre - 35044 RENNES cedex
If you have any questions about the label Maison des Illustres en Centre-Val-de-Loire, please contact:
DRAC Centre-Val de Loire
sylvie.marchant@culture.gouv.fr
02 38 78 85 00
6, rue de la Manufacture - 45043 ORLÉANS cedex
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Corsica, please contact:
DRAC Corse
carole.champredonde@culture.gouv.fr
04 95 51 52 15
1, chemin de la Pietrina, CS 10003 - Villa San Lazaro - 20704 AJACCIO 9
Proceeding
Procedures for evaluating cases
Applications are received and reviewed by the DRAC correspondent, who decides on their admissibility. They are then examined by the Regional Commission on Heritage and Architecture (CRPA), under the authority of the DRAC.
The DRAC proposals are validated by the Prefect of Region and the label is awarded, for 5 years.
Calendar
- Opening of the deposit of files: 03 April 2023
- Application deadline: June 30, 2023, 11:59 pm (Paris time). No file may be filed or considered after this date.
- File Review and Processing: July-September 2023
- Transmission of files to regional commission members: October 2023
- Regional Commission meeting and award decision: November-December 2023
How to file a file?
- Download the file below and complete it.
- Return your file by email by clicking on the "Submit my file" button or by post to the address indicated below.
Example of labelled houses
In the Greater East region, 22 houses have been awarded the label "Maisons des Illustres". To find out more, go here: list of Houses of the Illustrious (Great East).
A question?
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres en Grand Est label, please contact:
Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) Grand Est
Regional conservation of historical monuments
2 place de la République - 67084 Strasbourg cedex
03 88 15 57 03
The filing of files is now complete.
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Hauts-de-France, please contact:
DRAC Hauts-de-France
colette.drean@culture.gouv.fr
agathe.cartier@culture.gouv.fr
03.28.36.61.45
1-3 rue du Lombard - CS 80016 - 59041 LILLE Cedex
Of the 245 houses labeled "Maisons des Illustres" since 2011, 40 are located in Île-de-France making the region the first by number, to which are attached some of the sites labeled abroad. However, special attention must be paid to the places attached to the memory of women, which are still few in number, and to the absence of houses labelled in the departments of Seine-Saint-Denis and Val de Marne.
The DRAC Ile-de-France promotes the label through the networking of labelled sites. The Club des Illustres, supported by the Ministry of Culture, is an association (1901 law) of labeled houses, founded in 2017 for professionals. It ensures that the Maisons des Illustres are in contact, promotes exchanges between them, makes the sites labelled known to the greatest number and ensures visibility in all regions of metropolis, overseas and abroad: https://illustres.fr.
Proceeding
Procedures for evaluating cases
The DRAC Ile-de-France will pay particular attention to the following elements:
- bibliographic presentation of the Illustrious
- presentation of the house and its links with the Illustrious
- arrangements for opening to the public
- cultural project
- existence of visit aids
- accommodation arrangements for visitors with disabilities
- tourism promotion of the house
Calendar
- File Open: December 05, 2022
- Deadline for submission: 31 January 2023, 23:59 (Paris time). No file can be submitted or taken into account after this date.
- File compliance review and potential site visits: between February and April 2023
- Regional Heritage and Architecture Commission (RCAP) meeting: June to December 2023
- Announcement of results and prefectorial decisions: between September 2023 and January 2024
How to file a file?
- To download the form, click on the "Download form" button below.
- Fill out the form and return it by email, along with all the attachments needed to review your application, to mdi.dracidf@culture.gouv.fr.
A question?
If you have any questions about the award of the label "Maisons des Illustres" in Ile-de-France, please contact:
Ile-de-France DRAC
mdi.dracidf@culture.gouv.fr
01 56 06 50 04
47 rue Le Pelletier - 75009 Paris
Form button
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Normandy, please contact:
DRAC Normandie
hind.bouchareb@culture.gouv.fr
02 31 38 39 62
13 bis rue Saint-Ouen - 14052 CAEN cedex 4
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres en Nouvelle Aquitaine label, please contact:
DRAC Nouvelle Aquitaine
justine.dujardin@culture.gouv.fr ; 05 57 95 01 66
sandrine.pantaleo@culture.gouv.fr ; 05 55 45 66 73
54 Rue Magendie - CS 41229 - 33074 BORDEAUX Cedex
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres en Occitanie label, please contact:
DRAC Occitanie
veronique.cottenceau@culture.gouv.fr
04 67 02 35 21 D
5, rue de la Salle-l'Évêque, CS 49020 - 34967 MONTPELLIER Cedex 2
If you have any questions about the label Maison des Illustres en Pays de la Loire, please contact:
DRAC Pays de la Loire
etienne.bartczak@culture.gouv.fralexandra.maniere@culture.gouv.fr
02 40 14 23 00
1 rue Stanislas Baudry, BP 63518 - 44035 NANTES cedex 1
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres en Paca label, please contact:
DRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
yves.giraud@culture.gouv.fr
catherine.cauche@culture.gouv.fr
04 42 16 19 00
23, boulevard du Roi René, - 13617 AIX-EN-PROVENCE Cedex
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Guadeloupe, please contact:
DAR Guadeloupe
marie-noelle.martial@culture.gouv.fr
05 90 41 14 80
28 rue Perrinon - 97100 BASSE-TERRE
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in French Guiana, please contact:
DCJS Guyane
cyril.goyer@ guyane.pref.gouv.fr
05 94 25 54 00
4, rue du Vieux Port 97321 CAYENNE - GUYANA
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label at La Réunion, please contact:
DAC The Meeting
natacha.provensal@culture.gouv.fr
02 62 41 99 49
23 rue Labourdonnais, CS71045 97404 Saint Denis Cedex - La Réunion, France
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Martinique, please contact:
DAC Martinique
christophe.pomez@culture.gouv.fr
05 96 60 05 36
54, rue du Professeur Raymond Garcin - 97200 FORT-DE-FRANCE
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in Mayotte, please contact:
CAD Mayotte
guillaume.deslandes@culture.gouv.fr
02 69 63 00 48/ 06 39 69 93 08
BP 676 - 97600 MAMOUDZOU
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres label in French Polynesia, please contact:
emmanuelle . charrier@polynesie-francaise.pref.gouv.fr
Head of the culture mission
+689 / 40.468.705
A question?
If you have any questions about the Maison des Illustres, please contact:
General Delegation for Transmission, Territories and Cultural Democracy
Department of Territories, Division of Territorial Attractiveness
marco.marchetti@culture.gouv.fr
01 40 15 34 02
182 Rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris
or the decentralized department of the Ministry of Culture in your region, whose contact details are given above.