We have hotel reservations in Rouen for three days in March. We'll have a car and intend to visit the usual spots in Normandy--the beaches, Honfleur, etc. However, I'm now wondering if Rouen is a good, central base for touring Normandy. We don't mind driving a while as long as it doesn't consume our days.

I liked Rouen very much, spending a couple days there when we picked up our three month lease car. Thanks to the AutoRoute, you can easily and quickly get from Rouen to most parts of Normandy, even though it seems less central than some points. I'd go for it. It's also a delightful city to come back to in the evenings.

Caen is often recommended as being a more central spot, but it is only about an hour and 15 minutes from Rouen. So obviously there are many places that equal distant from both "centers".

Our experience was the opposite of Patricks--we had far too much trouble getting into and out of the city to consider using it as a base. Since you want to visit the beaches, Honfleur, and so on, you might do better to base yourselves in that area. I imagine you'll want to visit Bayeux and Caen, and there's no point in driving all the way from Rouen over and back each day.

We had no problems getting in and out of Rouen and had a lovely time.

I'm with Underhill on this one. If your interests are on the coast then why base yourself 60 minutes in land?
I'm curious as to why you have to base yourself in a city as there are some delightful accomodations which have a more rural setting. After all, you'll have your car.

We were in Normandy in October and based ourselves a few minutes inland from Port en Bessin. This location is convenient to all of the landing beaches (including Utah), the cemetaries, St. Mere-Eglise, the town of Bayeax, and even Caen. To explore further east, we moved to Deauville and then to Honfleur. We did not visit Rouen, but from what I see on this board, Rouen may be worth a night or two in itself. Some of the small towns around Bayeax invite lingering. We had a particularly nice lunch at the hotel on the square in Creully. So to HQ in Rouen and try to enjoy such things may involve lots of driving. In any event, we thoroughly enjoyed our Normandy visit -- it would be hard to do otherwise. Good luck. Gradyghost

I like Arromanches-les-Bains for a base in that area. Stay at Hotel de la Marine and have the ocean out your bedroom window.

Keith

I love Rouen, and I'd certainly encourage you to stop there and enjoy its many cultural and historical treasures (as well as its food), but I'd never use it as a base for visiting the main sites of Normandy. You want to be farther west, nearer the beaches. Even from Honfleur it's a bit of a haul to the museum at Caen and Bayeux and the beaches. Maybe one night in Rouen and two in the Bayeux-Caen-Arromanches area?

I am with gradyghost on this one. We visited Normandy in Sept and based at a manor house hotel near Port en Bessin. It was a great location for visiting Honfluer, the beaches and Caen (definitely would not stay there). that said, I loved Rouen and would definitely keep it in your itinerary.

Rouen--worth your time? Absolutely! Use as base for Normandy? Heck no.

ds1: I'm with StCirq on this one. Rouen is a very interesting little city with much to see and do, but too far from the places you list to use as a base. You need to be farther West.
Depending upon your available time, you could stop at Honfleur and Deauville on the way to the beaches. Bayeux might be a better location to spend the night, particularly if you are going on to Le Mont St. Michel. If you do go that far West, try to spend a half day at Dinan. I love that little village. Have a great trip.

I'll jump on the bandwagon as well. Rouen - great place to visit, wouldn't want to base there!

And me too. Love the Musee des Beaux Artes in Rouen, particularly its Impressionist wing. We spent the night and half day in Rouen, drove the Abbaye Road north and then spent the night in Honfleur. Then on to Bayeux via the back roads (why would anyone drive the Autoroute in such a charming countryside?) and used that as our base to see NOrmandy. We had 6 days however. For your shorter time you may need to just head to Bayeux, see that area and then backtrack toward Rouen and fit your time to what you want to see.

I would prefer to base at Bayeux. It has the 900 year-old tapestries, nice restaurants, etc. The Chateau Bellefontaine offers a nice place to stay at reasonable rates. You might then visit Rouen on the way out from Normandy.

Normandy is truly an emotional experience.

I don't think this question is as "cut and dry" as some try to make it. The quesion wasn't "is Rouen the BEST base for Normany". No, it probably isn't the best. But ds1 has reservations there and asked if it is a good base for exploring Normandy and even mentions Honfleur.
Rouen to Honfleur is just under an hour. Bayeux to Honfleur is nearly two hours. So much depends on where you are going specifically. I still stand by my original statement, that it is good base for what you mention. While you might want to take a slow winding road to a destination, you also have the possibility of a quick return by the autoroute. And having spent a couple nights in Bayeux myslelf, I'd really prefer returning at night to a place that doesn't close down at 9 -- I liked Rouen a whole lot more as a town or city.