Rouen

Rouen

Rouen is best discovered from its surrounding hills, the towers and spires of its churches gradually emerging from the morning mist.

It slowly reveals its secrets, carved in two by the meandering River Seine ; the vast, fiat stretches of the left bank contrast with the crowded right bank, huddling at the foot of the hills which it eventually conquered.

The city itself beckons ; leave its noisy main roads behind and stroll slowly along the narrow, inviting streets.

And ail becomes clear. Two thousand years of history can still be felt here, engrained in the walls of the numerous half-timbered houses, in the stone of the churches, civil buildings and town houses, and in the comings and goings of the River Seine, the life of the city.

Here, history lives and breathes. Rouen, the historical capital of Normandy, was France's second city for many years. It today bears witness to this prestigious past with its outstanding heritage, which this guidebook invites you to discover.