ROUEN
heartland of Impressionism
A warm welcome awaits you in Rouen, the capital of Normandy and Impressionism. The city beloved by Claude Monet has a remarkable historic centre entirely pedestrianised which is a real pleasure to discover on foot.
Stroll through the narrow streets with their typical half-timbered Normandy houses, many of which date from the Middle Ages, and discover Rouen’s architectural heritage: gothic masterpieces such as the Notre Dame cathedral, the churches of St Ouen and St Maclou. Then there are the Aître Saint-Maclou, and the Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde, both of which date from the Renaissance, not forgetting Rouen’s emblematic “Gros Horloge” with its gothic style bell tower and arch with magnificent gilded Renaissance clockface. Today the Gros Horloge has been carefully restored. Open to the public, the clock tower hosts a permanent exhibition, the city bells and boasts one of the oldest existing clock mechanisms in Europe.
Rouen is not just a city with magnificent architecture. It is also famous for many well-known historical characters such as Richard the Lion Heart who is buried in the Cathedral, Jeanne d'Arc, Pierre Corneille or Gustave Flaubert. Claude Monet would immortalise Rouen and its cathedral in his famous series “Cathedrals” painted between 1892 and 1894.
For the art lover, the city’s 14 museums offer a choice of rich and unique collections and they are all well worth a visit. If we had to pick only one it would no doubt be the Fine Arts Museum whose collection, second only to that in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, was donated in 1909 by François Depeaux. It is made up of over 50 paintings, each one a masterpiece by geniuses such as Monet, Sisley, Pissarro, Degas, Boudin or Renoir.
In France Normandy is famous for the richness of its cuisine and has the second highest concentration of starred restaurants in France notably the restaurant ‘Gill’ with 2 Michelin stars and the Nymphéas and the Ecaille each with one star.
The region prides itself on its culinary traditions marrying “surf and turf” and no one should visit Rouen without tasting regional specialities such as “canard à la Rouennaise” or Rouen-style duck, famed throughout the world. Other local delicacies include apple flavoured barley sugar and chocolates such as Joan of Arc’s tears and the “paillardises”. Another gastronomic delight are our daily or special Sunday markets filled with delicious fresh local produce.
Shopping in the myriad of little shops and stylish boutiques is a real delight and the visitor will always be sure of a warm welcome. And why not check out the antique shops and antiquarian book sellers in the ancient streets of the St Maclou quarter in the shadow of the imposing and beautiful church?
The city is full of little squares and gardens which breathe life into the urban streets but inevitably all roads lead to the river Seine linking Rouen with both the capital Paris and the open sea. The river had always played an important role in the history and development of the city and the same is true today: the Seine is always an integral part of Rouen’s festivals and events calendar.
So come and visit Rouen, city of Art and History.
WHAT’S ON ...
Graines de jardin
2009 - May 30 & 31
On the 30th and 31st May 2009, the first edition of the « Graines de jardin » festival, organised by the “Communauté de l’Agglomération de Rouen”, will take place in Rouen.
Rouen’s Jardin des Plantes will come alive with the aim being to inform and advise inhabitants of the city, garden lovers and visitors and to invite them into a world of plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables species, some of which are now little-known or forgotten.
Several activities will be on offer, including a plants market, workshops on horticultural techniques, conferences and children’s activities. Many products will also be on sale.
The garden will be split into various themes:
►Learn about the plants of the garden (bookshop, conferences, hedges in bloom, ground-cover plants, shade plants, aromatic plants)
►The biodiversity of the garden (old-fashioned vegetables, flowers for balconies, varieties of fruits, wild edible plants, old roses, small fruits, hardy perennial plants)
►Multiply your plants (sowing, taking of cuttings, grafting, dividing hardy perennial plants, exchange)
►Gardening techniques (fruit-trees pruning, shrubs pruning, rosebush pruning, flowerbed plantation, rainwater collection, garden equipment, thermal weeding)
►A healthy garden (organic products, pesticides alternatives, the small fauna of our gardens, birds, diseases and devastating insects)
►Feed the ground (compost heap, mulching, organic fertilizers)
The plants market and the organic market:
The plants market will take place during the morning and the organic market during the afternoon.
The permanent exhibition of the « Jardin des Plantes » will be open during the festival.
More information: a detailed map, an activities program and further information will be available soon on the website of Rouen agglomeration.
www.agglo-rouennaise.fr
Monumental and Picturesque Normandy
2009 - May 16 to August 16
The exhibition opens with the spectacular prints made for illustrated descriptions of the province. Normandy was the subject of the first volume of the celebrated 'Voyage picturesque' published by Baron Taylor, for instance.
This illustrations also appear in painting, first with the 'troubadour painters' and then all through the Romantic period with Evariste Fragonard or Hyacinthe Langlois in France, and the great masters of watercolours in Britain (Cotman, Turner)were fascinated by the poetic grandeur of Norman sites. Analyzing the iconography of some of the most famous sites of ancient Normandy, the exhibitions features the progressive changes in the notion of picturesque during the 19th Century.
www.rouentourisme.com
www.rouen-musees.com
SPECIAL OFFERS
Rouen, home of the impressionists
2009 - from January 1 to December 31
2 days / 1 night in a 2* hotel for 2 persons, from 245 euros for a double room (including breakfast and taxes, a 3 hours painting course (supplies and tuition) with a translator, a dinner, admissions for the fine art museum and audio guided visit)
No transport included
During two days, you will discover Rouen, home of the Impressionists. Opposite Rouen Cathedral, in one of the three studios which Claude Monet occupied from the end of february to mid april 1892, come and discover Claude Monet's artistic technique and paints his "way" using the same palette of colours. For your dinner, you will taste a menu in the colours of the impressionists in a city centre restaurant. you will visit the Rouen fine art museum which shows one of the first impressionnist collections in France.
ROUEN TOURISM BOARD
25 place de la Cathédrale
76000 ROUEN
Phone: 0033 232 08 32 47
Fax: 0033 232 08 32 49
Email: commercial1@rouentourisme.com
www.rouentourisme.com
Rouen gastronomic
All year round
2 days / 1 night – from 274 euros for a 3* hotel for 2 people (including taxes, breakfast, audio-guided tour, museums tickets, a meal at 'Gill' and a meal at 'La Couronne')
Transports not included
Welcome to Rouen, home of the Impressionism …
For a week end, stay in a charming hotel, enjoy our Norman gastronomy with two meals in prestigious restaurants.
'La Couronne', oldest inn of France situated on the 'place du Vieux Marché' where Joan of Arc was buried. The most celebrate people came to visit this Inn.
'Gill', probably the best restaurant in Normandy, with 2 Michelin stars.
With an audio-guide, you'll stroll trough the narrow streets and will discover the prestigious heritage, Notre-Dame cathedral, the 'Gros-Horloge'...Continue your tour by visiting our various museums.
Office de tourisme de la communaute de Rouen vallee de seine normandie
25 place de la Cathédrale
76000 ROUEN
Tel: 02 32 08 32 47
www.rouentourisme.com
commercial1@rouentourisme.com
