Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park

The Heart of French Colonial History

Easy walk downtown

Established as a National Park Service site in 2020, this park is the anchor of any visit to historic Ste. Genevieve. It preserves and interprets the town’s early colonial story, with the Beauvais-Amoureux House, Green Tree Tavern, and Jean Baptiste Vallé House all part of its footprint. Stop by the visitor center for a short film and rotating exhibits, or join a ranger-led walking tour to get the full picture before you explore on your own.

Beauvais-Amoureux House

A Rare Post-in-Ground Survivor

Easy walk downtown

One of the best physical examples of poteaux-en-terre, or “post-in-ground,” construction — a building method where the vertical support logs are sunk directly into the earth rather than set on a foundation. Only three houses built this way still stand in Ste. Genevieve, out of just five known to survive anywhere in the United States, which makes this a genuinely rare stop on your walk.

Bolduc & LeMeilleur Houses

A National Historic Landmark, Built in the 1790s

Easy walk downtown

Widely considered one of the finest surviving French Colonial houses in the country, the Bolduc House is a National Historic Landmark built in the 1790s using the same poteaux-en-terre technique, complete with a detached kitchen. It’s cared for today by the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, and a visit here is one of the clearest windows into how French Creole culture shifted and adapted through the town’s changing years.

Guibourd-Vallé House

An 1806 Creole Home with a Norman Truss Roof

Easy walk downtown

Built in 1806, the Guibourd-Vallé House showcases a slightly later style of Creole architecture, including a distinctive Norman truss roof system and poteaux-sur-solle (post-on-sill) construction sealed with bouzillage. Beautifully restored and open for tours, it’s especially worth a visit during the town’s holiday events, when the house is dressed for the season.

Centre for French Colonial Life

Four Historic Houses, One Museum Campus

Easy walk downtown

Part museum, part historic house tour, the Centre for French Colonial Life brings together several restored 18th- and 19th-century homes on a single campus. It’s one of the best places in town to slow down and really absorb the day-to-day details of colonial life here — the kind of texture you don’t get from a single-building visit.

Jean Baptiste Vallé House

Home of the Town’s Last Spanish-Era Commandant

Easy walk downtown

This home belonged to Jean Baptiste Vallé, the last colonial commandant of Ste. Genevieve under Spanish rule. As commandant, he held the highest local authority in town — overseeing law, military affairs, trade, and relations with Native tribes. Few houses in town carry as much political history within their walls.