Cheap Rouen Vacation Packages
There’re a ton of experiences that you can connect with the French city of Rouen. First that it is the capital city of Normandy, the name that marked the beginning of the end of Nazi Regime and Adolf Hitler. Second, Rouen is unceremoniously associated with the martyrdom of Joan de Arc- she was burnt at the stake here. Rouen is home to the cathedral that inspired Monet to paint over thirty timeless classics on his canvas and the city is also the birthplace of the eminent French author Gustav Flaubert. However, this is only an indicative list. This French capital city is adored for its honeycomb of fifty religious monuments, most of them being Gothic era churches and chapels and central to them all is a thousand year old Notre Dame Cathedral.
Places of Interest in Rouen
Cathedral Notre Dame
Cathedral Notre Dame or the Rouen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral in Rouen. It is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Rouen and is heralded by a spire of 151 metres. Visitors are usually left speechless after looking at its façade which is super-impressive to say the least and has been the inspiration behind some of Monet’s most revered artworks. The cathedral has suffered much through the hands of time, wars and a cyclone but is still considered a classical masterpiece of its time stands tall with all its grandeur and majesty.
Abbatiale Saint-Ouen
This seven hundred years old masterpiece of Late Gothic era in Rouen is what you must find time to visit. The Abbatiale Saint-Ouen church was originally built in 1318 AD as the abbey church of Saint Ouen for the Benedictine Order but was badly damaged subsequently due to wars. Your first reactions after looking at Abbatiale Saint-Ouen would comprise of an alternating series of bewilderment and pleasure, and the emotions would be sent to their crescendos after you raise your sight above to its top where the ‘Crown of Normandy’ is put. Another highlight is its large, unaltered Cavaillé-Coll organ that was once called ‘a Michelangelo of an organ’ by the eminent French musician composer Charles-Marie Widor.
Gros Horloge
Gros Horloge is a fourteenth century astronomical clock in Rouen and is an indistinguishable part of the city’s identity. It is also one of the oldest working clocks in the Europe and its mechanism dates back to 1389 AD. It is funny to know that the emblematic clock of the city was originally constructed without a dial and that it had a simple notion of representing twenty-four hours with one revolution of the hour-hand. The movement is cast in wrought iron and is perhaps the largest such mechanism still found working. The gigantic clock tower also depicts the phases of the moon in the oculus of the upper part of the dial. Similar to the invariable lunar cycle, it also completes a full rotation in 29 days. The week days are particularly shown in an opening at the base of the dial with symbolic subjects. On its inside, the Gros Horolge has paintings of the noted French impressionist Léon-Jules Lemaître.