I don’t know how residents feel about it. Italy is certainly not short of beautiful architectural medieval examples, but the half-timbered buildings that became typical in Northern Europe during the Middle-Ages hold a Nordic charm which I find fascinating.Īmong all these well-kept beautiful houses, the newly built church of Saint Joan of Arc in the center of the Place du Vieux Marché looked to me like a heresy. It was, however, the half-timbered houses what made Rouen old town truly special to me, as it had happened in Albi when I visited the city a few years ago. Farther from the traffic noise, the abbey is a place of prayer, silence, and meditation.

I moved away from the road and headed towards the peaceful gardens surrounding the external aisles and the apse, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, the facade overlooks a rather busy square which doesn’t fully valorize it. Much as I like the Cathedral, the gothic building in Rouen old town that stole my heart was the abbey of Saint-Ouen. During Lent, the drastic religious rules forbid the consumption of butter, but people could escape the rule in exchange for a donation to the church and the offerings financed the construction of the tower which was thus named Butter Tower. One of them, called la Tour de Beurre (The Butter Tower), owes its name to the indulgences that were practiced in the Middle-Age. The three imposing towers are one of the highlights of its gorgeous architecture. The Cathedral of Rouen fascinated Monet, the father of Impressionism, who, between 18, represented it in more than 30 paintings. Rouen Cathedral, one of the icons of Impressionism The old town of Rouen is an endless discovery.Īlthough Flamboyant gothic is not my favorite architectural style, there’s no denying that Notre-Dame Cathedral is impressive. Magnificent gothic churches, charming alleys and lovely squares lined with the typical half-timbered houses, the beautiful arch with the Gros-Horloge, the keep where Joan of Arcwas tried, threatened of torture, and sentenced to die, and the typical charm of French smaller cities. Notwithstanding, Rouen old town is beautiful and it took my breath away. The heavy bombings during WW2 destroyed more than 45% of the city. The same applies to the Rouen Cathedral, the symbol of the city, though I soon found out that there are many other beautiful sights. Discovering Rouen old town, amid stunning medieval housesĪs I always say about Milan, the Italian city where I live, you haven’t seen it if you don’t visit the Duomo. I would head to Rouen, the capital of Normandy. After all, Normandy is where Impressionism was born, and with that in mind, I remembered Monet’s beautiful paintings of the Rouen Cathedral, captured at different times of the day and of the year.Īnd so Rouen it was. That’s how I got to decide where to spend these few days. My passion for nature and outdoors is second only to my love for art and architecture. I studied the map, looking for a destination not too far from Paris and attractive enough. Rouen, a fantastic short break from Paris In my imagination, Normandy was a region calling for slow travel, taking the time to savor the small things. Soon, I found out that I needed much more time than three stretched days and that I would have to hire a car to get around quicker and easier. I was heading to Paris to take care of three lovely cats and managed to add a few days before reaching the French capital. I’d been dreaming of discovering some of the main sights of what I always imagined like a beautiful region: the Mont-Saint-Michel at low and high tide, a long reflection on the ravages of war at the WW1 battlefields, moments of bliss at one of the pretty towns along the coast, a walk on the cliffs of l’Etretat. I visited France several times over the past years but never went as far as Normandy.

There, I discovered the beautiful medieval quarter of Rouen old town. Last Updated on Jby Simon My passion for art and the Impressionists led me to visit Rouen.

Paintings of medieval battlefields