Rouen, France

April 7, 2026

This morning we did a walking tour of Rouen with our guide, Elodie. Please note the French shoes!

We really enjoyed this city. It is the historic capital of Normandy and is a beautifully preserved medieval city. It is France’s only UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

The skyline is dominated by the magnificent Notre-Dame Cathedral which Monet painted more than 30 times. Victor Hugo called Rouen the city with a hundred bell towers. The one of Notre-Dame briefly made it the tallest building in the world.

The cathedral took 400 years to build, between the 12th and the 16th century and acquired many spires and styles as it was expanded and renovated in different eras. On the opposite side of the square is the former treasury building where Monet had an apartment and was used as his studio.

The former treasury building across from the cathedral

There was a Mass with a glorious children’s choir

There is a stunning astrological clock, the Gros-Horloge.

Some of the other sights around the city include the half timbered houses, restaurants, brasseries and some charming streets and alleys.

This is the place du Vieux-Marche, the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Elodie told us the story of how Joan helped Charles become king and that she needed to be executed as a witch at the age of 19 to protect his reign. She was actually exonerated 25 years after her execution in 1431. There is a striking modern church near the site. The stained glass windows were preserved during the war and re-used in this church.

We returned to the ship for dinner and went out again for a 9 PM concert in the Notre-Dame cathedral. It was simply amazing. The cathedral has wonderful acoustics and seemed even more magical at night. The choir had about 30 men and women. They started with an excerpt from the Hallelujah Chorus, did one selection in English, Simple Gifts from Appalachian Spring. The cathedral is a short walk from the ship so we were back by about 10:15. I hope I can insert the video even though it doesn’t do it justice!