This is part of our 10-day trip to the Normandy region of France in August 2020. You can find the overall itinerary and links to other stops on this trip in our Normandy post.
We visited Rouen on our way back to Brussels. It served as our final stop in Normandy and a chance for the kids to stretch their legs during the car ride. It’s another old town with a historic center full of the colorful half-timbered houses that I can’t get enough of.
We parked in a fairly central location called Rouen Park (it has both surface and underground parking available). Since it was just a pit stop on a travel day, we only spent about 3 hours in the town. Here’s what we fit in as a starting point for any itinerary of things to see in Rouen.
1. Notre-Dame Cathedral of Rouen
Our first stop was the towering gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral. As always, the architecture was stunning on both the outside and inside, and these churches are always worth a visit. The cathedral houses the tombs of some former Dukes of Normandy as well as that of Richard the Lionheart. This is another church that was damaged from bombing during WWII; it looked like they were in the middle of substantial renovations today.
2. Gros Horloge
This astronomical clock dates back to the 1300s and is installed above a renaissance archway from 1529. Meaning Great Clock in English, it’s a real stunner with bright blue and gold. It only has one hand to tell the hour (because why not?!). The clock face is on both sides of the archway, so don’t forget to look up when you get to the other side! We didn’t have time to go inside, but according to the website, you can visit the clock face room, and in the belfry, you can see the 14th century machinery and the earliest town bells.
3. Church of St. Joan of Arc
Between the Gros Horloge and our next stop, you can enjoy a beautiful walk down the historic streets with bright yet slightly crooked buildings. And then you know when you arrive at the Church of St. Joan of Arc, as it is a thoroughly modern church built in 1979.
The history of Joan of Arc is remarkable, so stopping at this church that was built in her honor (as both a church and a memorial), on the ground where she was burnt at the stake, is mesmerizing. There is a small garden next to the church with a sign marking the spot. Interestingly, the church was built next to the location of a 16th century church that was destroyed during WWII. The Renaissance stained-glass windows from that church were saved and incorporated into the Church of St. Joan of Arc.
Note that there is a small covered market behind the church in case you want to grab a snack. There are also public toilets just to the west of the church if the kids need to make a pit stop.
4. Saint-Ouen Abbey
The Gothic architecture of this church presents an imposing yet phenomenal structure. We walked around admiring the outside of the church, but we did not go in. The lawn hadn’t been maintained and there was a rope up along the front sidewalk, leading us to believe it was closed. We also saw a lot of people looking at the church, but no one going in or out. While we were trying to figure out this mystery, our 5-year-old decided she needed to use a toilet immediately, so we left the church in search of a bathroom (priorities!).
Upon some later research, it seems the inside of the church is still accessible most days (and apparently gorgeous). However, it’s more or less left empty and slowing falling apart…which explains why it looked abandoned when we were there.
Before leaving Rouen (and Normandy), we stopped at La Crêperie Rouennaise for one last crêpe. The kids had sweet crêpes (one with jam, one with Nutella) while my husband and I had savory crêpes (one with four cheeses and one with cheese, chorizo, peppers and an egg). They were a different shape than any crêpes I’d had before, but as delightful as crêpes always are!
And some final admiration for the colorful and quirky architecture in Rouen! I loved every single one of these half-timbered houses that we saw throughout Rouen, Bayeux and Honfleur. They will always be one of the first things I remember about our time in Normandy.