Rouen makes an ideal day trip from Paris, one hour away. Full of Medieval buildings, Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake here, and Claude Monet painted its cathedral.
Rouen, if arriving near its Seine waterfront, can at first seem a disappointment. As France’s fifth biggest trading port, the city was the target of heavy bombing in the Second World War. The subsequent renovation makes for a monotonous prospect. But head into the historic centre and you will experience a potent mix of medieval Gothic and half-timbered architecture that reinforces Rouen’s status as one of the most historic cities in Normandy.
Rouen Cathedral
The prime glory of Rouen is the Cathedral-de-Notre-Dame, a masterpiece of High Gothic. The intricate, detailed stonework of the west front fascinated the French Impressionist artist Claude Monet, who made it the subject of a series of paintings showing the changing effects of light through the day.
While the Tour St-Romain, the left-hand tower on the west facade, is the oldest part, dating back to the 12th century and built in the early Gothic style, it is worth walking along the south side to admire the exquisite 14th-century Portail de la Calende. Above the nave roof soars the lantern tower with its 151m/495ft spire. Made of cast iron, and a 19th-century replacement of the medieval wooden one, it is the highest in France.
The interior of the cathedral is also of great beauty and contains effigies of Richard the Lionheart, and the Viking Rollo, who was the first Duke of Normandy.
Medieval Rouen
Running parallel to the cathedral is the Rue St-Romain, which leads into the heart of Rouen’s medieval quarter. Although, as one of the biggest ports in France, Rouen was the target of heavy bombing in the Second World War, it still boasts a rich collection of medieval half-timbered buildings.
The Rue St-Romain, and the streets leading off it, also hold a variety of specialist shops, selling ladies’ hats, faience pottery, chocolate and second-hand books.
In Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Old Rouen was a disturbing place of dimly lit streets and seedy dens. While it has been much cleaned up and many buildings restored, its narrow streets retain their atmosphere.
Saint Joan of Arc in Rouen
Joan of Arc was tried for witchcraft in the Archbishop’s Palace in Rue St-Romain and tortured in the Tour Jeanne d’Arc in the Rue du Donjon. In the spring of 1431, she was burnt at the stake as a heretic in the Place du Vieux Marche. The spot is parked by an iron cross. The square was bombed in the Second World War, but an interesting modern church, its roof in the shape of a whale’s fin, has been built and dedicated to St Joan here.
Eating in Rouen – La Couronne
By the side of the Place du Vieux Marche is the famous restaurant La Couronne, said to be the oldest inn in France, dating back to 1345. Its cosy, wood-panelled interior has been much frequented by celebrities, including Salvador Dali, Noel Coward, John Wayne and Sophia Loren.
Rouen Rue du Gros Horloge
To the east of the Place du Vieux Marche, the Rue du Gros Horloge derives its name from the extravagant gold-faced Renaissance clock that overlooks the street, which is part of Rouen’s busiest shopping area, with many clothes shops and restaurants.
Rouen Churches
Victor Hugo called Rouen the city of a hundred bell towers. The church of St-Maclou, an example of Flamboyant Gothic at the bottom of Rue St-Romain, loses little in comparison to the cathedral itself. The abbey church of St-Ouen was part of a Benedictine abbey for 1000 years. Its west front is so immense that many first-time visitors to Rouen mistake it for the cathedral.
Rouen Musee des Beaux-Arts
The best of Rouen’s museums is the excellent Musee des Beaux-Arts, which features works by Old Masters such as Velazquez, Rubens and Caravaggio, and an extensive collection of paintings by French artists, including the celebrated local Theodore Gericault. There are many works by leading Impressionists such as Degas, Renoir, Boudin and, naturally enough, Monet, including the famous paintings of Rouen Cathedral.
Rouen is just over an hour by train from Paris and, with a good range of hotels, makes an excellent base to explore deeper into Normandy.