Happy birthday to the Cité de la Mer. For its 20th anniversary, the museum, residing in the heart of the transatlantic maritime station of Cherbourg, offers itself the title of Favorite Monument of the French in the eponymous program broadcast on France 3, Wednesday September 14.
Fourteen emblematic monuments representing the four corners of France competed for the title to succeed Place Stanislas in Nancy, having won the 2021 edition, and the Citadel and the lion of Belfort, title holder in 2020.
A first participation in 2015
It is ultimately in Normandy that the heritage building is located, acclaimed by Internet users who took part in the vote on the France 3 site. The Cherbourg maritime station, but also the submarine The Redoubtablewhich has been enthroned next to the monument since July 4, 2000, will now be adorned with a plaque indicating this new title, offered by Stéphane Bern at the end of the programme.
The building, inaugurated in 1933, had already participated in the competition set up by France Télévisions in 2015, during the second edition of the show. He had not managed to win the title, won that year by the Belfry of Arras, still offering third position.
The show was then deprogrammed before returning in 2020 just before the heritage days during which many places are open to the public.
The full ranking
As is customary, throughout its course, The Favorite Monument of the French detailed the ranking of the finalist monuments following the vote. The Fort de Schoenenbourg, in the Grand-Est and the Pont Transbordeur, in New Aquitaine, complete the top 3.
Here, in order, is the full ranking at the end of the competition:
- The Cherbourg transatlantic ferry terminal and the Le Redoutable submarine (Cherbourg-en-Cotentin) in Normandy
- Fort Schoenenbourg (Hunspach and Ingolsheim) in the Grand-Est region
- The transporter bridge (Rochefort and Échillais) in New Aquitaine
- The rock and the chapel Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe (Aiguilhe) in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- The historic mining center of Lewarde (Lewarde) in Hauts-de-France
- Fontenay Abbey (Marmagne) in Burgundy-Franche-Comté
- The synagogue of Carpentras (Carpentras) in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
- The chapel of Maison Saint-Yves (Saint-Brieuc) in Brittany
- The Zévallos dwelling (Le Moule) in Guadeloupe
- Saint-Martin-du-Canigou Abbey (Casteil) in Occitania
- The Robert Tatin museum (Cossé-le-Vivien) in Pays de la Loire
- The castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte (Maincy) in Île-de-France
- The castle of Azay-le-Rideau (Azay-le-Rideau) in Centre-Val de Loire
- The prehistoric site of Filitosa (Sollacaro) in Corsica