Rouen?
 

We will be in Rouen, France overnight in Sept. Should we tour around Rouen and the countryside or take a train into Paris? We have been to Paris. Is there anything worth seeing around Rouen? How about accomodations?

Rouen is very nice. The Beaux Arts Musee has a very good collection of paintings- Caravagio, Veronese, Tintoretto, Dutch artists and Impressionists-The Monet of the Rouen Cathedral will have new meaning for you. The tribute to Joan of Arc near the curious Viking ship like church, Eglise Jeanne D'arc is interesting as is Aitre St Maclou and its tribute to the 1348 plague. There are lots of other significant Abbeys and churches as well as towers and interesting old buildings and architecture. We also found good and reasonably priced food. Have fun. Paul

Rouen is a nice town, with old streets and houses, a cathedral, several interesting churches. It's worth the visit, especially if you're staying there for some reasons.



Around Rouen, I could recommand :

-The really charming village of "Lyons-la-foret"

-The really impressive ruins of a middle-age castle (Chateau-Gaillard) build above the seine river at "Les Andelys" (my personal favorite, but then, I love ruined castles)

-The numerous abbeys, some ruined, some still standing, which are spread in the countryside around Rouen, in particular "Jumieges"

Several interesting sites are situated along the Seine river, so you might want to follow its valley. There's some beautiful scenery.


At some distance (40 miles??), you could want to visit Giverny to the east, or at the contrary, to the west, the beautiful cliffs of Etretat, along the coast.

Ditto on the recommendation for Les Andelys - we really liked that very much.

Lyons-la-foret is pretty but is somehere you'd probably just stop for tea/ coffee or maybe lunch, rather than spend hours in.

I think you'd need a car to access these sites easily.

Even if you're not into museums/ galleries you could easily spend a number of hours (about half a day) just walking through the streets and admiring the architecture/ stopping for tea/ coffee and enjoying a nice lunch.

That last sentence refers to Rouen, btw. Sorry!

By all means spend some time in Rouen! Here's a link to information that a guy who grew up in Rouen posted for us for our trip next September. It seems as though we could spend a week in Rouen and just scratch the surface.

http://bonjourparis.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=150

Rouen was my favorite day trip from Paris. I highly recommend it for excellent churches and interesting architecture plus some unual museums. I spent a day there just wandering around using a guidebook route (Steinbicker's Day Trips France).

You said you would be there "overnight" so I'm assuming you won't be making day trips. If you don't have much time, take the little train trip that starts in front of the Cathedral (which you won't want to miss). The train trip is very short and will give you a good idea of the sights within walking distance.

Then hop off the train and walk to the things that interested you on the train trip. Someone has already mentioned the wonderful Beaux Arts. We enjoyed the Cathedral Notre Dame (where you get the Little Train), St. Ouen's Abbaye Church, the square where St. Joan d'Arc was burned at the stake and the wonderful modern church they've built there. Go inside and look at the very old (saved in the War) stained glass windows in the very new church of St. Joan.

There is a section of town that has a tiny canal with bowers over it running along the streets. That's a great photo op.

If you are only there overnight, you can see a lot and stay right in the center of town. Rouen is historic and beautiful and there are a lot of very interesting sights compactly in the center of town.

Enjoy your trip.

If you are only in Rouen for a day and a night you will find plenty to do. The cathedral is spectacular, there is a great old town area with half-timbered buildings, the Joan of Arc execution site and church, beautiful Seine River area with park for a picnic, etc. Cardinal Hotel at the catheral is very nice and modestly priced. I would not think of leaving Rouen if you are only there for a day. I often make daytrips there from Paris.

Larry J