vanessagillian

I am thinking of renting a car from the cruise ship port in Le Havre and doing a road trip to Rouen. We're in port for 12 hours and I thought that it would be a good way to spend the day, driving to Rouen and taking in the scenery and a few historical towns along the way. I have downloaded a good map of Rouen which shows were to park and I also have a GPS on my iphone.
Does anyone have any ideas? Or perhaps an itinerary.
I have driven in the Loire Valley, the Dordogne, the south of France, Italy (but not in large cities) and the scariest of all: the Republic of Ireland. So I do have some experience driving in Europe,
I'd appreciate any advice you could give me
gillianvanessa

bratsandbeer

We are doing this same thing in September but think we will take the excursion offered. If we would be late getting back the ship will wait for an excursion but not for a couple that rent a car and get lost or have a breakdown.

For trips into towns we will take a taxi and do our own thing.

Sue4

12 hours seems like a lot of time, but maybe not enough to rent car, drive all the way to Rouen and stop and see things on the way. Besides seeing Rouen (which has plenty of interesting sites to visit). I think I would feel stressed out.
If your trip is in the summer,there is a lot of traffic on the roads in Normandy. I spent 2 weeks driving around Normandy a few years ago, and loved it. However, if I were you, I would opt for the excursion offered (as per the above poster) and go back for a longer visit to Normandy!

Jean

bratsandbeer raises a valid point. Also, you need to verify with the cruise company that you truly have 12 hours off the ship, feet on the ground. It's more likely the 12 hours are calculated from the time the ship docks to when it departs, not counting the time it will take you to get off and back on again which can be time-consuming. Also factor in the time needed to rent the car and return it, and if this trip is in summer assume there will be lots of traffic.

Do you have a particular interest in Rouen? If not, I'd probably head to Honfleur for its charming scenery and then perhaps to Lisieux for its basilica, its cathedral, and, a few kilometers south of Lisieux, the St. Germain de Livet castle/chateau. If you go to Lisieux, be sure to have a good map and/or GPS as most of the streets in the historical center are one way.

bratsandbeer

We have actually driven around France on a trip 4 years ago. This area should be easy to drive in - we did get lost in one town on our way to Omaha Beach but we found our way. We stayed in b&bs that were sometimes out in the country and hard to find but we made it wherever we needed to be without a GPS. France is actually easy to drive in compared to Ireland, N Ireland Wales and England.

We are on a Princess cruise - my first cruise - and will take the excursion to Rouen and Giverny. It didn't look like we would want to hang around LeHavre all day.

vanessagillian

Hi everyone. Thanks for your advice. I will look into public transport to get us into Rouen, although on Trip Advisor, a number of people posted that they had driven into Rouen and the rental car companies will bring the vehicles to the dock, where you are also able to return them.
Just a word of caution to bratsandbeer: I have been on a number of cruises and have found that the tours they organise are very expensive, often a lot of time is spent on long, elaborate lunches and a non-optional shopping trip is more than likely on the agenda. When we took the cruise ship tour to Giza to see the pyramids, we spent more time at the lunch buffet than we did looking at the Sphinx!In Rome, the lunch was so long that only 30 minutes were left to see the Colosseum and of course, having only that much time, no one could enter.
Just to warn you¡

StCirq

Ship tours may be expensive, but so are one-day car rentals. Typically, you pay the same for one day as you would for three. Still might be cheaper than an excursion - don't do cruises, so I really don't know.

vanessagillian

When I was in Orvietto last May, my friend and I rented a car for the day and it was 90 euros plus the gas top-up when we brought the vehicle back. Divided between the two of us, I didn't think the price was bad as we went to a couple of historical villages that would have been impossible to get to using public transport considering the amount of time we had. I am wondering if you think that 90 EU is reasonable. We didn't shop around as it was a spur of the moment decision.

vanessagillian

Hi Jean
Regarding Rouen: I have heard from a colleague that comes from France that, while it is an industrial city, it has a magnificent cathedral and an amazing medieval section. As well, it was where Joan of Arc was put to death. I just thought that it sounded very interesting. We do intend to visit Honfleur as well. Do you have any insights into Rouen, that would put it on the back burner?
Thanks

Jean

Rouen does have a beautiful cathedral. If you're a fan of Monet, you'll remember the many views of the cathedral he painted in all seasons. The medieval section and clocktower are interesting, and my favorite restaurant in France (La Couronne, featured in "Julie and Julia") faces the square where Joan d'Arc was put to death.

http://www.lacouronne.com.fr/accueil.jsp?lang=en

The choice is whether you want to visit a larger town or a much smaller one with a chateau nearby.

FYI, you could probably train between Rouen and LeHavre in under an hour.

vanessagillian

Hi Jean
We have a car reserved for 85EU for the day. Do you have any idea of the traffic conditions getting out of the city on the main thoroughfare from the port? Looking at the map, it appears that there is a main road that heads straight through the city.
I am really looking forward to visiting Rouen, and no, I did not know that Monet painted there. Will definitely check out that restaurant-- loved the movie!
One last question--- how long would you spend in Rouen on a day trip?
Thanks
vanessagillian

StCirq

You could easily spend quite a full day in Rouen. It's got a lovely old section, with the rue du Gross Horloge being the entryway, good museums, the Place Jeanne d'Arc, wonderful restaurants, etc. Yes, it got bombed to bits in WWII, but there's still plenty of attractions. I would leave myself plenty of time to get back to the ship, but you won't be bored in Rouen.

Rumseydog

Regarding your iPhone and using its GPS capabilities: unless you a purchasing an AT&T International Data Package, enabling 3G in France (or anywhere in Europe) is very expensive (more than $1,000 according to some reports). Unless you purchase a Data Package, AT&T recommends you disable 3G when traveling in Europe.

Michael

For Rouen I would use public transportation. If renting a car, I would limit the trip to a round-trip going on the right bank of the Seine to the Pont de Brotonne, cross the bridge, then take a right and follow the <i>route</i> or <i>chemin des chaumières</i> back to Honfleur. Enjoy the port of Honfleur and back to le Havre.