France has so many destinations to explore, it is hard to cover them all or explore them as in-depth as they deserve. Even after living in Paris for 6 months many years ago, I could not cover all the territory that I would have liked. One of the towns that I always wanted to visit was Rouen, in Normandy. Why? Two things have always drawn me to it:
- Its cathedral, made eternal not only by its construction but by its depiction by Claude Monet under different light and seasons.
- Its infamous designation as the town were St. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by the English at 18 years of age.
Getting there
From Paris, going to Rouen is a piece of cake. A two-hour train ride from Gare St. Lazare takes you to Rouen. From the train station in Rouen, a half-a-mile walk (or less) takes you into the center of town. There is a metro station near the train station and the heart of the town is just one or two stops away. But I recommend walking in as it is sort of downhill!
Surprised by Rouen
I am not sure what architecture I should have expected but I was surprised by the architecture in the old town. It looked a lot like the architecture that I saw around Strasbourg and Colmar in southeastern France. The town center was beautiful!
Monet’s Cathedral
Monet gave this old cathedral a favor by his work showing its glory in different times of year and under different light. I enjoyed playing with photo filters to re-enact his work with my layman’s skillset and tools…
The cathedral sports a magnificent façade that clearly lost a few statues at some point; some of the remnants can be seen inside the church. There are some tombs of former kings from over a millennium ago. Impressive.
Odd church… to St. Joan of Arc
As we walked in the old part of town, we saw this oddity in the middle of some square or plaza. It really looked weird and like it did not belong. The more I looked at it, the more it began to look like some Viking structure. It turned out to be the church built on the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake after being accused of many false things by the English (whom she had helped fight on the French side before she was even 19!). Once we identified what it was, the architecture began to make more sense.
The site was very moving. There is a very tall cross right outside the church on the spot where this poor and very brave young woman died for France. The inside of the church seems to fit the story. When I looked at the ceiling, the ceiling seemed to flow up to a point – like a flame would. It was all very moving indeed…
Crêpes!
When one goes to Paris, one is well-served by eating crêpes from the stands around town. But, in Normandy, eating crêpes is a must! We found a great mom-n-pop place, Kerso, where we enjoyed crêpes salés and crêpes sucrés for lunch. Really cool find!
Though only a half day visit, I definitely got my money’s worth and more checking out this most interesting of French towns!
