I still have some problems with the two words. I think it’s too difficult to distinguish between “historic” and “historical”. Why do we have “historical place” but “historic site” for example?
Thank you in advance.
hi,
It’s an interesting question 
I think that a native speakers should explain the difference, but I think that “Historic” is only connected with sth that has to do with history or sth with the past. (e.g. A historic battle)
“Historical” refers to a person, thing, an event that was in the past. ( A historic battle ??)
grr. I’m confused. I’m not sure.
Hi Sophie,
Here’s an example to illustrate the difference:
Waterloo is a place of historical interest.
The Vatican is a historic building.
The Vatican could also be a place of historical interest if you were interested in the very history of the building. But the historic status/ranking of the building means it is old and significant.
historic[color=blue]al - go down in history
historic - a historical result for today