How many days in Rouen?
 

I'm wondering if 4 days is enough time to see all the medieval sites/parts of Rouen. I can't get a clear picture from the guide books I've looked at.
I know there are excavations under the Palais de Justice for which there's a guided tour. And there's an antiquities museum with a section for the Middle Ages.
I don't need to go to the art museum or see anything modern, I'm just interested in the oldest parts of the city (and I do speak French).
Thanks.

You want to post this in the Europe forum - hopefully a moderator will move it or just repost in Europe forum. IMO one full day was enough to see all of Rouen or two at most. Can use it as a base from which to hop to nearby Giverny - short drive or train to Vernon + bus or taxi to Monet's Garden.

Moved

One day in Rouen is enough for me.

https://frenchmoments.eu/rouen-old-town/

The 'medieval' section of Rouen is IME rather compact - much of city was damaged in WW2 and now rebuilt - one day certainly is enough and if kerouac who has lived in France zillions of years says so take it as gospel.

The entry and existing of the city, by car is not the most peasant experience. Roads are narrow. loads of traffic, too many lorries, poor road signs etc etc
Do you really want to go there?

We had no problems driving in & out of Rouen. We parked at our hotel in the center of town. Two nights/1 full day is adequate. We didn't visit the church on our most recent trip, however. This is from my Normandy itinerary. The stars indicate the rating in the Michelin Green Guide (0 to 3 stars)

Rouen***. see ROUEN in the Green Guide

This is a beautiful city – one of our favorites in France. We’ve visited it twice. It is a large city, and getting into the historic center can be a little hectic. Remember - shops close for lunch around noon, so get there by 9:30 so that you can pop into some shops that look interesting. Lots of cross-timbered buildings & great churches. Follow the walking itinerary in the GG. However, we had mixed impressions of the main pedestrian street through the city – the Rue Gros Horloge**. It is a very pretty street, but it’s loaded with visually distracting chain stores (Pimkie, Foot Locker, etc) and it is difficult to really appreciate the beautiful architecture with these distractions. We prefer other streets. One of our favorites is the Rue de Martinville* east of the Cathedral Notre Dame. Follow it as far as the cobblestones go. Slip into the beautiful and quiet Aitre St Maclou** courtyard at the end of the cobblestone section of Martainville. We also like the architecture along Rue Damiette* and the adjacent Rue Eau de Robec with the stream running down the middle of the street.

Hotel – We stayed at the Du Vieux Marche, which is centrally located and has a garage where we parked the car. The hotel is nothing fancy – but for 1 night it worked out great. There are many tourist restaurants in the historic section of Rouen, and we “checked out” most of them earlier in the day. Many were way too touristy for us. We ended up dining next door to our hotel at Les Nympheas – which exceeded our expectations.

Stu Dudley

We also enjoyed Rouen. I agree that a full day in the city is the right amount of time. We stayed at the Mercure City Center which had its own parking garage. A very cute hotel in a great location for walking around.

Post 7 I do know what it is like but the question is does the OP really want the hassle of the Flipping traffic to see the city?
The city was damaged a lot in WW2 thus some of it is reconstructed. France has a load more of the same without the traffic bottle neck.

Thanks #2! I've been to Giverney and Monet's Garden. I should have said that I'm doing research for a book and want to see Rouen only, since it's set there. I never liked or finished any of Kerouac's books, so his opinion doesn't carry much weight for me. (-:
Thanks to the posters for warnings about traffic. I've enjoyed driving through the Loire Valley, the Dordogne, and the South, but I would definitely take a train from Paris for this trip.
Thanks Stu Dudley for the specific suggestions. I do my best in Europe to stay away from touristy restaurants. It helps speaking French, German, Dutch. I'm doing site research for my 27th book, and need to soak in impressions and take as many photos as possible, so I'll make note of your ideas.
I'm what the French call a flâneur. I'm the kind of traveler who needs time to gather impressions: I take journal notes while I sit in cafés and I don't like feeling rushed.....One day's not enough for me anywhere unless a publisher has me on a strict book tour schedule. That being said, it sure sounds like I can make this a shorter trip than usual. I spent a week in Ghent for research and felt I could have stayed longer, ditto Bruges....
Alors, merci à tous pour vos messages!

Only you know how much time you spend writing notes or researching, but two days should do it. I'm not sure what guidebook would suggest there is that much to see that it would take 4 days, if you don't intend to visit any museums. There are a couple cathedrals and a few other sites of interest. I enjoyed it as I was very interested in Joan of Arc history. I don't think it really matters if someone lives in France or not, in terms of opinions, as people have vastly different interests and attitudes towards things. I can't imagine taking any rperson's advice on what to do anywhere solely based on the fact that someone lives there.

Seems like you answer your own question - too bad did not explain all that at first. Why diss someone who ws trying to help?

I thanked everybody.

<I never liked or finished any of Kerouac's books, so his opinion doesn't carry much weight for me. https://www.fodors.com/community/ima...ted/smiley.gif>

Guess this was satire? Talking about the real Kerouac? If so sorry for missing it.

Good luck on your quixotic search in Rouen.