France gains 56 UNESCO sites with Normandy beaches and Cathar castles

On July 26, 2026, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Busan, South Korea, inscribed two new French sites: the Normandy D-Day beaches and the Royal Fortresses of Languedoc (formerly known as Cathar castles). This brings France's total UNESCO sites to 56. The Normandy landing beaches stretch 80 km along the Bay of Seine and include Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches, plus Pointe du Hoc. They preserve elements of the German Atlantic Wall, battlefield remains, and memorials such as the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. The Languedoc fortresses comprise the Carcassonne castle and seven others (Aguilar, Lastours, Montségur, Peyrepertuse, Puilaurens, Quéribus, Termes), built by Capetian kings in the 13th-14th centuries after the Albigensian Crusade. These strategic sites allowed the French king to monitor dissident locals and the neighboring Kingdom of Aragon. The 2026 session also added 23 other sites worldwide, including Mount Olympus in Greece, Jingdezhen porcelain sites in China, Sarnath in India, Asuka and Fujiwara in Japan, Boma-Badingilo in South Sudan, and modern architecture in Tashkent.