Rouen, Gothic glories in Normandy’s historic capital

It didn’t take long to realise that Rouen was the sort of place that demands more than a day of your time. The capital of Normandy has a rich history, a collection of architectural gems that gives it the second-highest number of listed monuments in France after Paris, its Musée des Beaux-Arts is one of the finest in the country, and its streets are enlivened by a large student population. It also has Joan of Arc.

If I knew little else about Rouen, its association with the Maid of Orléans, as Joan of Arc is known, is inescapable. The remarkable teenager who claimed God chose her to lead France’s army to victory at the siege of Orléans, was burned at the stake in Rouen’s main square after being found guilty of heresy by the English. Given her place in the pantheon of French heroes, the memorial to her is – to say the least – underwhelming.

Joan met her fate in the Place du Vieux-Marché, a busy square with a sizeable population of drunks and rough sleepers. The modern Église Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc has some medieval stained glass but was closed. This left only an understated plaque to mark the death of a woman who plays a huge role in the national consciousness. St. Joan of Arc is, after all, one of the patron saints of France.

Place du Vieux-Marché felt a bit sleazy so, with little of interest to detain us, we went off to explore Rouen. The city is known for its Gothic architecture, none more famous than the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen. We walked down narrow streets lined with timber-framed houses until we reached the Le Gros-Horloge. This medieval astronomical clock has a mechanism that dates to the 14th century.

Ahead of us, towering over the surrounding streets, were the twin spires of the immense cathedral facade. This is one of the jewels of French medieval Gothic architecture, the detail of the facade is magnificent. Perhaps this is the reason it became something of an obsession for Claude Monet. The great Impressionist created more than thirty paintings of the cathedral between 1892 and 1893, capturing it in different seasons and light.

Rouen Cathedral was badly damaged during the liberation of Normandy following the D-Day landings. It has been fully restored and is a fascinating building. The heart of Richard the Lionheart is buried in the cathedral, while the sale of indulgences allowing people to eat butter during Lent – one of the causes of Luther nailing his Ninety-five Theses to that church door in Wittenberg – paid for one of the cathedral towers.

The cathedral though is only one of several magnificent medieval churches, the nearby Saint-Ouen Abbey Church is almost as beautiful and certainly seems to compete on size. It also has nice gardens in which people were picnicking. It was lunchtime and we found an outdoor table on the pedestrianised Rue Eau de Robec – which has a small stream running down it – for a leisurely lunch in a friendly restaurant.

Rue Eau de Robec also has some of the finest examples of timber-framed buildings in the city. Afterwards we strolled to the 16th-century Ossuary of Saint-Maclou, which was built to house the bones of 14th century plague victims. There are carvings of skulls and bones in the building timbers. The nearby Eglise Saint-Maclou is another gothic masterpiece. We then meandered through the streets to the banks of the River Seine.

The contrast between the narrow streets of the historic centre and the wide open space along the river was stark. We saw boats sailing on the river, a reminder that Rouen grew rich on trade and, despite being quite far inland, is still a large port. It was a hot day and there were plenty of people enjoying the breeze along the river. The left bank of the river has been landscaped into a park and makes for a pleasant amble.

We had one final thing to do, a quick visit to the Musée des Beaux-Arts, before heading back to Brussels. It felt like we had just scratched the surface of Rouen, and it’s definitely somewhere to return to for a longer visit.