Paris1972-Versailles2003

In my nostalgic saga of my family visits to wonderful places to spent a day in my belle France, I take you this time to Rouen. Who has not heard of Rouen? The gorgeous city in the Seine-Maritime dept 76 of the region of Normandie, and my belle France. We have come here often many times, especially since living closer in Versailles.I am adding some personal older pictures awaiting my next trip there soon.

Initially we came here from Versailles by car , and once by train from Gare St Lazare in Paris, after getting there from the rive droite train station in Versailles, You can do in a day, either way for lunch , and sightseeing, it is worth it, me think. I took a long wait once moving to the Morbihan breton and now planning to go back again from Bretagne, In the meantime, here is my personal memories of Rouen !!!

The Avenue Aristide Briand is bordering the Seine river and is road D6015 as well, We came by it and stayed at the Hôtel Mercure Rouen Champ de Mars done in the 1990’s at 12 bis Avenue Aristide Briand many years ago,  The Avenue Aristide Briand has Place Saint-Paul as its end and Quai de Paris ends at the intersection of Boulevard Gambetta. It was opened at the end of the 17C thanks to significant embankments taken from the Côte Sainte Catherine, which covered a modest path crossing the Pré au Loup. First called Chemin Neuf, it was called Cours Dauphin, in honor of the son of Louis XV, Cours de la Liberté under the French revolution, Cours de Paris, Avenue Saint-Paul and finally Avenue Aristide. Briand.

The Esplanade du Champ de Mars adjoining the Mercure hotel as above and close to the historic pedestrian city center , The avenue is near the convergence of road D6015 and N28 and near Pont Mathilde as well, You are about 10 minutes walking from the Notre Dame Cathedral of Rouen, You can see from the Esplanade back far the Saint-Paul church located at the foot of Sainte-Catherine hill, near the Mathilde bridge. Only the remains of the old Romanesque church serving as a sacristy and adjoining the current church Today closed to worship and disused since 2017.

The Place du 19-Avril-1944 receives its name to commemorate the night of April 18 to 19, 1944 when a bombardment, intended for the installations of the train station of Sotteville, On April 18, 1944 in the evening, 273 Lancaster type bombers took off from England bound for the agglomeration Rouen. Objective: the Sotteville-lès-Rouen marshalling yard. 6,000 bombs were dropped causing more than 900 deaths and 20,000 victims. In 1995, in the center of the square, a basin was built from which a sculpture appears to spring, qymbolizing the victory of Life over Death. Dominique Denry’s work “Au bout de l’errance” represents a family leaving the ruins. The father, the first, looks far ahead. He knows that the reconstruction will be long. The teenager seems to imitate him. The mother looks behind. She thinks about the past. She kisses the child she carries in her arms. This gives him courage. This child is the hope for a better future. And it was, Good parking Palais and near museums Beaux Arts, and Le Secq des Tournelles.

The Rue du Gros-Horloge is the main public pedestrian thoroughfare in Rouen. It leads from Place du Vieux-Marché to Notre-Dame Cathedral and crosses Rue Jeanne-d’Arc, near the Gros-Horloge. In 1527, the street was spanned by a stone arch, which then led to the old town hall. It bore the names of “Grande-Rue”, “rue Courvoiserie”, “rue Massacre”, “rue Vanterie”, “rue Wanterie” before reverting to the name “Grande-Rue” during the French revolution ,before taking its present name. In 1932, the first Monoprix store in France opened there, under the name Noma, a contraction of “new store”. In 1971, the street became the first pedestrian street in France. The main building on the street is the Gros-Horloge. There are also many half-timbered houses, some of which are corbelled. Three of them could be prior to the torture of Joan of Arc in 1431. The Rue du Gros-Horloge contains the following buildings, protected as historical monuments my favorites are of course the Gros-Horloge and its fountain, Tour du Beffroi, The Gros Horloge is a Renaissance pavilion spanning the street via a low arch. On the double Renaissance dial, the single hand points to the hour. Under the number VI, the divinity which symbolizes the day of the week appears, at noon, on a triumphal chariot. Above the dial a globe indicates the phases of the moon. Sheep everywhere remind us of the importance of working with wool. The Easter lamb, represented in the center of the arcade, symbolizes the arms of the city. Finally, a Louis XV fountain completes the ensemble and celebrates the love of the river god, Alpheus, and the nymph Arethusa. Others to see here are the former City/town hall , and the buildings at the corner with rue des Vergetiers and at no 95 Protected houses at nos 23, 25 and 27, 28, 29, 46, 85, 87, 97, 99, 124, 136, 138, 139 141, 144, 146, 148 and 150, 161, 163, 165, 167 and 169, The Rue du Gros-Horloge was engraved in 1885 by Camille Pissarro. Awesome walk you can spent a day here , me ouii.

The City of Rouen on its heritage: https://rouen.fr/tourisme

The Rouen tourist office: https://en.visiterouen.com/

There you go folks, another dandy town in my belle France. Rouen is full of memories always in my heart , worth a detour me think, I am looking forward to be back soon from my new home in the Morbihan breton, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!