What to visit in Rouen in a weekend?
Rouen. It is the name of a city that we have all heard or read several times in our lives. However, most of the friends I asked ” What do you know about Rouen?” » didn’t really know what to answer…
So, I decided to go there for a weekend to discover this city with my own eyes and tell you what to visit in Rouen . So let’s go ? 🙂
The Antiques Quarter
To begin your journey, I invite you to discover the Quartier des Antiquaires. It is for me THE coolest corner of Rouen, and by far. In this district located in the heart of the city, you will find dozens of small shops, each one cuter than the next, alleys with incomparable charm and Instagrammable for the photographers in you. My favorite spots? Do not miss Damiette , Saint Nicolas and Eau de Robec streets… where you can even play pétanque. Yes yes, to pétanque. Discover fake Rolex, the top choice for replica watches online!
The Big Clock
You know my love for spots that allow you to admire cities from a little height. Well, if you want to discover Rouen from above, all you have to do is go to the Gros Horloge, right in the center, a stone’s throw from the Quartier des Antiquaires which I told you about just above. The view is then… Well, admire that 🙂
It will take 7 euros to be able to climb the very many steps of the Gros Horloge. I find it a bit pricey, but still worth it 🙂
Cathedral
How to talk about Rouen without mentioning its cathedral so well known and recognized everywhere in France (and even elsewhere)? We are talking about a Cathedral that imposes, whether by its style but also by its size. Moreover, Rouen Cathedral was the tallest building in the world between 1876 and 1880! A Fun Fact as we like them 🙂
What I particularly like about Rouen Cathedral is undoubtedly its interior. It is majestic, grand. You really feel very small and the calm imposed in this kind of place only reinforces the beauty of the place & the moment.
Mandatory, therefore, go INTO the cathedral the day you pass it!
Finally, I really invite you to discover the Illuminations of the Cathedral which are every summer at nightfall.
DID YOU KNOW ?
- There are approximately 100,000 inhabitants in Rouen.
- Rouen is the city with the most bars per inhabitant! And yes, with one bar for 1404 inhabitants, it is located in front of Lille (1 bar for 1440 inhab.) or Bordeaux (1 bar for 1670 inhab.). Champions of France!
- There are 8 kilometers of pedestrian street in the city center. A real pleasure to walk around 🙂
- It takes less than 2 hours by road from Paris to reach the prefecture of the Normandy region. To rent a car, you can go through www.drivy.com , you will find many cars for rent between individuals on this site. This is what I used to go to Rouen, and everything went very well: We reserve our car online, we set an appointment time with the driver, then we pick up the vehicle and it’s left ! Practice !
- Joan of Arc is omnipresent in Rouen. You will find a Joan of Arc church, a Joan of Arc museum, a Joan of Arc street, a Joan of Arc tower and so on…
Street Art in Rouen
I didn’t expect to see so much Street Art in a city like Rouen. So be careful, you can’t compare this to anything you can see in NYC or London, but still! There are a lot of very nice artists who live in the area and who invade the streets of Rouen with beautiful works, like Padam.
You will find a lot of works on the streets Massacre , Géricault , and especially on the rue des Bons-Enfants . To your cameras!
The Côte Sainte-Catherine
To end your stay in style, you MUST go to the Côte Sainte-Catherine to enjoy a perfect Viewpoint to admire a sunset over the city. There’s something magical about the place when the sunset vibes arrive , so don’t deprive yourself!
So, this spot is still ultra hot, isn’t it? Go for it, really. It’s my little favorite in Rouen 🙂
The surroundings of Rouen
If you come to Rouen by car, you can explore the surroundings of the city! THE thing not to be missed less than 30 minutes away by car is the abbey of Jumièges, which is truly magnificent. Founded around 654, it has known many stories, each more interesting than the other: attacked by the Vikings, stone quarry, etc. We can also see it reconstituted entirely in 3D via an application that you can download to your smartphone or which you can obtain via a tablet loan on your arrival. The experience is nice 🙂
If it’s very hot (and yes, it’s also hot in Normandy, I had a very sunny weekend with 35 degrees!), you can also go to the Mesnil sous Jumièges leisure center where you can kayaking, paddle, zip line and so on 🙂
If you still have some time…
- You might as well drop by 106, a really cool place to see a concert.
- Go to the Historial Jeanne d’Arc which opened recently and which is apparently very nice.
- Discover Rouen before (from 1431, at the time of Joan of Arc) at the Panorama XXL which I have heard a lot of good things about.
I wish you a good trip to Rouen. Something tells me that you will have a good stay … And that you will return 🙂