Always nice to visit Caen again ,after a long hiatus ! We used to come often from Versailles, but from the Morbihan we finally made it ! There are wonderful monuments here that will take more than a day, but we are catching up on Caen and will be back, I have a couple older posts but will more soon, For now hope you enjoy the new post on the curiosities of Caen !!! I really had a good time here at last !
Caen is the political capital of Normandy and home of the regional council ,while Rouen is the administrative capital; a way to please both in the new administrative realignment of France on joining upper and lower Normandy into one again,Normandie. It is the capital City in dept 14 Calvados.
The former musée des antiquaires de Normandie or Normandy Antiquaries Museum at 71 rue de Bras, The 13C porch of the old Hôtel-Dieu de Caen, (16C) demolished in the 1830s, is also rebuilt next to the 16C facade The Musée de the Society of Antiquaries of Normandy was badly damaged during the Battle of Caen (WWII), The old porch of the Hôtel-Dieu, saved in extremis, was reassembled on the facade of the museum, which therefore remains the only element remaining on site, In 1983 , the society of antique dealers of Normandy, which does not have the means to manage its funds, signs an agreement with the city of Caen and the archaeological collections are deposited in the Museum of Normandy which is open within the walls of the castle of Caen in 1963 , Part of the collections is also on display at the Archaeological Museum of Vieux-la-Romaine (town of Vieux).
The ancien palais de justice or former courthouse of Caen, also known as Palais Fontette, is a former courthouse built on Place Fontette, in the old city center of Caen, between the end of the 18C and the middle of the 19C. It has been disused since July 2015. Its base is between rue Saint-Manvieu to the north, rue Bertauld to the west, place Fontette and place Saint-Sauveur to the south and a street closed to traffic, sometimes called rue du Bailliage, to the east. The construction began in 1783 and by 1789, the shell was completed, Although the building was not completed, the judicial institutions moved there in March 1791. The building was officially inaugurated on February 11, 1792 without it actually being completed, On September 17, 2019, it is announced at a press conference that the building will be converted into a four-star hotel with 159 rooms; Filing of the building permit on November 30, 2022, the opening of which is expected at best for 2026.
The Artothèque, Espaces d’art contemporain de Caen was created in 1986 by the city, in order to promote the inclusion of contemporary art in daily life. Like any art library, the Caen Art Library builds a collection of works that can then be borrowed. On the same principle as the books of a library. Public organisations and private entities can thus have temporary access to works to exhibit them within their walls. This action makes it possible to support and encourage contemporary creation, through acquisition and mobile outreach. Installed in the former Ducal Palace,(14C) the Artothèque de Caen also organizes temporary exhibitions such as paintings, photographs, drawings, sculptures, installations, etc. That is an average of four to six exhibitions per year, monographic or collective , Webpage :https://artotheque-caen.net/category/decouvrir/2023/
The Hôtel de Ville or City/Town Hall of the city of Guillaume obviously holds a place of choice among the most beautiful City/town halls in France, What is called the City/town hall is in fact the former convent, which in the past housed a high school and which has served as City/town hall since 1961. For info, the old City hall of Caen was a building whose construction stages span from the end of the 17C to the end of the 19C. The city administration has not always occupied the walls of this building destroyed in 1944 (WWII), The City of Caen on its heritage :https://caen.fr/patrimoine
You have the Twisto public transports of Caen with 3 lines of trams, the one most used even if sparingly maybe a couple times is the T2 line (see pic); there are ,also, T1 and T3, The tram runs daily from 5h45 to 24h30 Monday to Saturday and from 8h45 to 24h30 Sunday, Every 3 min 20 between Château Quatrans and Quai de Juillet stations. Every 5 minutes between Château Quatrans and Copernic stations and between Quai de Juillet and Poincaré stations. And every 10 minutes on the rest of the lines.Caen has also 12 bus lines for the inner City alone, Here the only one taken once was line 2 from the Memorial de la Paix to the Hôtel de Ville (abbaye aux hommes/ch St Etienne),webpage: http://The Caen public transports network twisto on tramways : https://www.twisto.fr/reseau-twisto/nos-mobilites/reseau-tramway.html
We did stop for a late lunch before leaving the City of Caen, and walking back of the Church St Etienne we encounter this picturesque place Sandwich & Salades ! And curious we stop by , of course , again if was a nice find, They are at 48 rue Guillaume le conquérant it’s ideal for breakfast (open from 8h30 to 18h30, every day except Sunday) or a quick meal, between noon and two ;before or after shopping or the gym to clear your conscience . A full menu for a few euros , what more could you ask for? Free Wi-Fi access? Yes it’s possible. The view of the Abbaye-aux-Hommes? Yes, that’s possible too! Home cooking? Yes, that too. An address to remember? Yes, definitely. We will be back ! The Sandwich & Salades Facebook page :https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054543365505
The Caen tourist office: on its heritage:https://www.caenlamer-tourisme.com/discover-caen-la-mer/caen-a-city-with-a-thousand-faces/
There you go folks, a wonderful awesome City to spend more time for sure we will be back, This is wonderful Caen, with beautiful architecture, nice history and many things to do and see ; a must to stop. Again, hope you have enjoy the curiosities of Caen !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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