Last week was my winter vacation at La Sorbonne, and so I booked last-minute train tickets and headed out to the train station first thing Wednesday morning, arriving in Rouen at 9am. The day started off dreary – rainy, cold, and I was feeling a little tired and unadventurous due to lack of sleep. I hung out in the tourist office for a while, going over maps and trying to figure out what I wanted to do (also avoiding the cold).
My trusty map, now a little worse for wear.
But soon enough I was on my feet, crossing the square to tour Rouen’s well-known cathedral, made famous by Monet’s series paintings. I suppose my expectations were too high, but it didn’t really impress me. It was cold inside, so big that it was empty-feeling, and filled with a lot of very white light. The facade so adored by Monet was also being cleaned, and so it was partially covered with white tarps.
But as soon as I exited the cathedral, everything changed. The sun was out, filling the plaza with warmth. I began to feel awake, excited, and ready to explore. I first stumbled across the church of Saint-Maclou, which in my opinion has an even more stunning exterior than the cathedral, and is even prettier because of its smaller size. I then wandered the streets for another hour, checking out lunch possibilities and wondering at the huge number of timber-framed houses, charming and painted in an amazing range of colors.
These buildings were no doubt my favorite part of Rouen. Initially I thought they were rare, occasional leftovers from the Middle Ages, but I soon discovered how wrong I was — apparently there are over 2000 half-timber houses in Rouen today. Then I thought I’d seen all possible types of houses, but even at the very end of my visit the city was still surprising me with new colors, new textures, and new architectures.
I was really excited about the place I’d chosen for lunch, but both the seafood and the white wine ended up being disappointing. After my very leisurely sunlit lunch I checked in at my hotel and relaxed there for a little bit before visiting the Gros-Horloge, which was probably the best part of my day.
It’s a clocktower, with beautiful twin clockfaces that tell not only the time of day but also the moon cycle and the day of the week. It has one of the most ancient clock mechanisms in France, installed in 1389. What’s also cool about the clock is that its mechanism isn’t behind the clock face; it’s actually located at the top of the clocktower, a good 4-5 stories higher and to the side. I climbed all the way to the top, where there’s a balcony that gives you a 360° view of the city. The sun was just starting to set, the view was amazing, the light was perfect…
From the city, you don’t even realize how huge the cathedral is until you take a step back, or rather up. Afterwards I returned to my hotel and sort of took a nap… I ended up trying to get dinner very late, and so the only restaurant that was still open was the same place I’d eaten lunch. Luckily, this time it was delicious. I had lamb in a jus de thym, tender and succulent and perfectly rosé, accompanied by a vin rouge de Bourgogne.
I didn’t leave the restaurant until 11:30, and then I spent the next hour wandering around the city center taking more photos. I ended up with a couple perfect cathedral night photos that I’m pretty proud of, because I had to be patient and inventive because I didn’t have a tripod; trying to hold completely still for 30 seconds is hard! And pressing your camera against a rock wall while leaning into a fence gives you a whole new appreciation for the meaning of awkward positioning. While I was taking this one photo on a side street, this young couple loaned out the window and asked what I was taking a photo of, which was amusing — I must have looked a little creepy, squatting in the street outside their house! I also stumbled across this one street that I’d just read about in an article over dinner — La Rue des Chanoines, a narrow road unchanged since the 15th century.
Photo of the cathedral spire taken from Rue des Chanoines
I slept in a bit the next morning, recovering from my evening escapades. Breakfast became a tea and pain aux amandes avec chocolat from Paul (which is a popular French bakery chain).
This breakfast with this view.
My first stop of the day was at the Abbée de St. Ouen. The space was tall and open and filled with lovely stained glass windows.
I wandered some more (there was definitely a wandering theme to this visit!) until I found a bakery selling avocado-salmon sandwiches. After lunch, I spent two hours at the Musée des Beaux Arts, which was enough time to see it in its entirety. I even got lost once and ended up in security corridor. A kind security guard showed me the way back to the exhibits, but along the way I saw a room full of sculptures not on display!
My favorite room was one that was full of impressionist paintings. It was very peaceful, being surrounded by Monets and Sibleys and Fréchons. There was also an incredibly detailed wood painting which as I photographed I got closer and closer to, trying to capture the detail, every instant expecting to press my camera up against glass… until suddenly I was looking at it from an inch away, and I realized the reason it was so clear is that there wasn’t any glass.
It was pouring down rain when I left, but this was different from yesterday’s rain; lighter, beautiful, more uplifting (or maybe it was just my perspective that had changed). As I arrived in the Place du Vieux Marché, the light transformed the rain into a sunshower, golden droplets misting down to bathe everything in a golden glow. It’s completely true, what they say about the lights in Rouen, how it’s the most beautiful in the world.
Rainshine!
L’Eglise Jeanne d’Arc was modern, but beautiful. I really loved its shape, like an upturned boat or a great fish rising out of the ground. After seeing the church I spent my last hour visiting a few different chocolatiers, buying small selections at each, finally buying those mini chocolate beignets I’d had my eye on the whole time, still feeling amazed every time I saw a new timber house…
I love Rouen. It was very tempting to just stay and catch a later train back to Paris, but I headed back to the train station for my 4:00 train anyway. It wasn’t until I was on the train home that I realized that this was my second ever completely solo trip, where I’d planned everything from the transportation to the hotel room to the itinerary completely alone. Just as there’s something magical about sharing a special place with another person, there’s also something completely magical about having that place all to yourself to discover.
Nouvelles Connaissances 