| Overview | Things to do | Suitability | Country Info (France) |
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Rouen is situated on the Seine river, and is an old town, with gothic churches and cathedrals, an abbey, a clock tower, an old marketplace where Joan of Arc was burned, Joan of Arc Museum, Museum of Flaubert. The heart of town is dominated by a 13th-century Gothic cathedral while to the W of the old town, and of touching interest, is a simple, thyme-covered mound where, in 1431, Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake; beside it stands a striking modern church dedicated to the saint.
While priding itself on 2,000 years of history, Rouen today is a thriving port, distribution and administrative centre, extending 1½ mls by 1¾ mls with traditional industries. Although extensively rebuilt after major damage during World War II, the historical centre largely survived and Old Rouen still seems to be bathed in the same hazy light captured by the Impressionist painter Monet, who lived here from 1872. Locality: Rouen is situated in Normandy in NW France, 35 mls inland from the English Channel, 130 mls S of Calais, 85 mls NW of Paris and its international airports. Rouen is positioned on a loop of the navigable River Seine, with surrounding indented hills. |
