The centre of Le Havre is the rebuilt heart of the city, almost entirely reconstructed between 1945 and 1964 to the plan of Auguste Perret after the destruction of the Second World War. This reinforced concrete ensemble, laid out around the place de l'Hôtel de Ville, the Porte Océane and the seafront, linked by the avenue Foch, the rue de Paris and the boulevard François Ier, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2005. The lantern tower of Saint-Joseph church is its most visible landmark.
This is the administrative and shopping heart of the city, around the town hall, the wide avenues and the railway station. The tramway, whose shared section for lines A and B crosses the centre between the beach and the station, makes it a very well served area, complemented by the LiA bus network. The apartments of the Perret buildings, bright and functional, give the district a look of its own.
Sought after for its central position, its shops, the closeness of the beach and its listed architecture, the centre sits at the upper end of the Le Havre market, just behind the lower town of Saint-Vincent. The supply, made up mostly of apartments from the reconstruction, attracts first-time buyers and working households as well as investors, drawn by the transport links and the closeness of the sea.
