What to See in Rouen

Overview

Sites, Monuments, and Architectural Ensembles

Great Clock
The city's iconic landmark. It is a 14th-century astronomical clock perched on a belfry-arch (housing a dedicated museum) spanning Rue du Gros-Horloge, one of Rouen's most famous pedestrian streets, lined with historic houses.

Joan of Arc Tower
This keep is the last remnant of the castle where part of Joan of Arc's trial took place. It also houses a small museum about her history.

Old Rouen
This is historic Rouen, with over two hundred listed or registered buildings. You’ll find narrow streets lined with half-timbered houses built between the 15th and 18th centuries, as well as the beautiful Palais de Justice and various churches like Saint-Ouen or Saint-Maclou.

Religious Buildings

Saint-Ouen Abbey Church
This former Benedictine monastery dates from the 14th century. It is a fine example of Flamboyant Gothic architecture. Its gardens (adjacent) now form the gardens of the Town Hall.

Rouen Cathedral
This magnificent medieval Gothic structure is the city's most prestigious monument. With its 19th-century spire reaching 151 metres, it was the world's tallest building for a few years (1876–80). It is also famous for inspiring the painter Claude Monet.

Saint-Maclou Church
This church is considered a "gem of Flamboyant Gothic art". Construction began in the 15th century, and it stands out for its façade with a large porch featuring five arches. The interior is also well worth a visit. Right next door, the Aître Saint-Maclou is a former ossuary made up of four wings in stone and half-timbering.

Church of Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc
This modern church, inaugurated in 1979, is known for its distinctive architecture, designed to evoke both a Viking ship and a fish.

Museums

Joan of Arc History Museum
This museum is located in the premises of the Archbishopric of Rouen, where the trials of Joan of Arc took place in 1431 (condemnation) and 1456 (rehabilitation). It tells her story.

Museum of Antiquities
The former Sainte-Marie convent (17th century) now houses archaeological collections, primarily regional, spanning from prehistory to the Renaissance period.

Museum of Fine Arts
This is a nationally renowned museum. It houses an extensive collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and art objects from the 15th century to the present day.

Ceramics Museum
This space, housed in a 17th-century mansion (the Hocqueville mansion), tells the story of Rouen faience through the centuries.

Flaubert and the History of Medicine Museum
The writer's birthplace is both a space dedicated to him and his family, as well as to the medicine of his time (Flaubert's father was a surgeon at the Hôtel-Dieu in Rouen).

Le Secq des Tournelles Museum
A wrought-iron museum housed in a former church in Rouen’s Vieux Marché district.

National Museum of Education
Housed in a beautiful half-timbered house, this museum traces the history of schooling and family education from the Renaissance.

Pierre Corneille Museum
This is the birthplace of the famous 17th-century writer, now a dedicated museum.

Parks and Gardens

Botanical Garden
This is a botanical garden spanning around ten hectares, home to thousands of trees and plants of all kinds.

Grammont Park
It's the city's second-largest park (25,000 m²), after the botanical garden.

Nearby

Some interesting sites to see around Rouen:

Mortemer Abbey
A 12th-century Cistercian abbey located in the village of Lisors. It now houses a museum of legends and ghosts.

Château du Champ de Bataille, Eure, France

Château du Champ de Bataille
A grand 17th-century château surrounded by beautiful gardens, located in the commune of Neubourg.

Château de Martainville, Seine-Maritime, France

Martainville Castle
A castle-museum (of Norman traditions and arts) located in the town of the same name.

Dieppe
Dieppe is a seaside resort that also boasts a castle and a few "historic" buildings.

Gerberoy
In the west of the department, this is one of only two Picardy communes awarded the "Most Beautiful Villages of France" label for its built heritage of narrow streets and half-timbered houses.

Les Andelys
A small town nestled in the loops of the Seine, featuring a beautiful 13th-century collegiate church and an imposing medieval fortress called Château Gaillard overlooking the river.

Route des abbayes normandes, Seine-Maritime, France

Norman Abbeys Route
This is a tourist route that lets you discover several Norman abbeys: Jumièges, Montivilliers, Saint-Martin de Boscherville, Saint-Wandrille, and Valasse Abbey.