Visit Rouen, the Historic Capital of Normandy

Rouen, the historic capital of Normandy, is a veritable open-air museum.

Each hour of the day brings a new array of colors, highlighting its beautiful landscape and jaw-dropping architecture.

Near the Cathedral, you can see Claude Monet's famous paintings - which immortalized Notre-Dame de Rouen across the world - in the Bureau des Finances, currently the Office of Tourism. Let yourself be "impressed" by the sunlight reflecting off the stained glass windows, which inspired Impressionist painters for decades.

Rouen, the Home of Impressionism

Guardian of an eternal mystery that has always captivated painters, writers and travelers, Rouen has a remarkable heritage built across many centuries. Whether man-made or natural, the pieces of this heritage delight visitors all year round. The area under redevelopment is composed of an agglomeration of 71 communes, in the heart of which bloom gardens, abbeys, and museums, and the Seine, a major axis with gracefully winding curves.

Take a stroll through time at the Notre-Dame de Rouen Cathedral, the Abbaye de Saint Ouen, the Gros Horloge, the Office of Tourism, the Aître Saint Maclou, and more.

From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, Rouen's architecture reflects its history and identity.

Today, the city of Rouen is in a constant state of evolution: the Église Sainte Jeanne d'Arc, built on the Place du Vieux Marché in hommage to the legendary heroine burnt at the stake there, and the Pont "Gustave Flaubert," a symbol of technological progress in the 21st century.

Rouen-Vallée de Seine is an exceptionally rich and diverse destination with the official "Ville et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire" label.

Whether you stay in the city, stroll along the riverside, or take advantage of the fresh countryside air, Rouen is the ideal location to enjoy French art de vivre.

Must-See in Rouen

  • The Gros-Horloge (A 16th-century archway on which is mounted a large, ornate Renaissance clock)
  • Notre-Dame Cathedral
  • The half-timbered houses and thoroughfares
  • The antiques district
  • Port activities and river tourism
  • Notre Dame de Bonsecours
  • The Manoir de Villers
  • Museums: Fine Arts, Gros-Horloge, Museum of Natural History, Ceramics, Secq Tournelles Metalwork museum, Antiquities, National Museum of Education, Jeanne d'Arc, Flaubert, Flaubert Pavilion, Maritime and River, the Corneille museum, the FRAC, the Corderie Vallois
  • Gothic churches (Saint-Ouen Abbey, Saint-Maclou, St. Patrick, St. Godard, St. Vivien)
  • Unique attractions: the Saint-Maclou aster, the Bourgtheroulde hotel, and "la maison sublime" (the Rabbinic School of Rouen, a centuries-old Jewish monument)
  • The Old Market Square and Church St. Joan of Arc
  • Parliament of Normandy
  • Parks, gardens and forests
  • Valley of the Seine: the Abbey Road (St. Ouen in Rouen, Saint-Georges to Saint-Martin de Boscherville and St. Peter at Jumieges), the route of fruites, and the Elbeuf Circus Theater
  • In the surrounding areas: Giverny, Etretat, Honfleur, Deauville.

Getting to Rouen

  • Train station: 1h10 from Paris Saint-Lazare, 5 hours from Marseille on the Normandy-Méditérrannée TGV route and the Roissy - Strasbourg TGV route.
  • Airports: Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (140 km), low-cost Beauvais (70 km), Rouen-Seine Valley (10 km)
  • Highways: A13 (130 km from Paris), A28/A16 (210 km from Calais), A28 (260 km from Tours)

Contact

Office de Tourisme de Rouen Vallée de Seine

25 Place de la Cathédrale

76000 Rouen

Rouen