Rouen Cathedral, the one Monet painted
1 hEveryoneAll year
Self-guided visit · 1 h · 151 m spire, the tallest in France · closed at midday on weekdays
From ParisTrain from Saint-Lazare · 1 h 15
MuseumsPermanent collections free
ClosedMonday (Gros-Horloge and Historial)
Minimum time1 day
What to do
What to do in Rouen
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The Gros-Horloge, the 1389 clock and its belfry
40 minFamilies and teenagers; stairsAll year, except Mondays
Museum and viewpoint · 40 min · from €7.85 · closed Mondays · roof climb with views of the cathedral
From €7
Book
The Historial Jeanne d'Arc, in the palace where she was tried
1 h 30Teenagers and adults; families with children from about age 8All year, except Mondays and a few days in January
Immersive museum · 1 h 30 · €12 · Tuesday to Sunday · departures every 15 minutes from 10:00
From €12
Book
Itineraries
Itineraries that pass through
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Rouen, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Rouen
All year: almost everything is indoors and the metropolitan museums are free. In summer, the cathedral façade is lit up every night with the Cathédrale de lumière show. Avoid Mondays, when the Gros-Horloge and the Historial are closed and the cathedral opens only in the afternoon.
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How you travel
Rouen your way
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Fly to Paris and take a train to Rouen
Rouen has a small business airport, but from Spain you reach it by flying to Paris: to Charles de Gaulle or Orly, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other cities, or to Beauvais, an hour and a half from Rouen by car. From Paris, the train from Saint-Lazare takes about an hour and a quarter.
- Getting thereParis-Orly (ORY): metro line 14…
- Getting aroundOn foot around the historic…
- Where to stayHôtel de la Cathédrale, next…
- ServicesTaxis and car hire at…
Getting there
- Paris-Orly (ORY): metro line 14 to Saint-Lazare and a train to Rouen
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG): RER B to the centre, change to Saint-Lazare and a train; by car, 1 h 45
- Paris-Beauvais (BVA): by car, an hour and a half
- The train to Rouen is bought separately, with SNCF
Getting around
- On foot around the historic centre
- Little train with commentary in Spanish
- Hire bikes at the tourist office
Where to stay
- Hôtel de la Cathédrale, next to the cathedral
- Hôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert, next to the Vieux-Marché
Services
- Taxis and car hire at the station
Rouen by train, without a car
Rouen is a textbook train day trip: Saint-Lazare, an hour and a quarter, and everything worth seeing within a twenty-minute walk of the station. The Rouen Pass adds unlimited public transport and tickets.
90–190 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to stayHôtel de la Cathédrale, on…
- Getting aroundTrain from Paris-Saint-Lazare
- Where to eatBrasserie Paul, open without a…
- ServicesLeft-luggage lockers near the station
Where to stay
- Hôtel de la Cathédrale, on Rue Saint-Romain
- Hôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert, next to the Vieux-Marché
Getting around
- Train from Paris-Saint-Lazare
- On foot, metro and bus around the city
- Hire bikes at the tourist office
Where to eat
- Brasserie Paul, open without a break every day
- La Couronne, lunchtime menu at €29
Services
- Left-luggage lockers near the station
How much does it cost?
People2
Nights3
Who you're with
Rouen for whoever you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Rouen with Children
Rouen works well with children if you alternate a monument with a stroll: the giant clock, the little tourist train and the streets of crooked houses entertain them more than the inside of the cathedral. Most of the city's museums are free.
- What works bestThe Gros-Horloge, with its bells…
- Where to stayHôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert, with…
- Where to eatBrasserie Paul, with no rigid…
- Good to knowMondays: the Gros-Horloge and the…
What works best
- The Gros-Horloge, with its bells and the roof
- The little tourist train, with commentary in Spanish
- The Historial Jeanne d'Arc, for children aged about 8 and over
- The Place du Vieux-Marché, with café terraces and a market
Where to stay
- Hôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert, with free breakfast for under-12s
Where to eat
- Brasserie Paul, with no rigid mealtimes
Good to know
- Mondays: the Gros-Horloge and the Historial are closed
- The cathedral closes at midday on weekdays
What to do as a family
Rouen Cathedral, the one Monet painted
The Gros-Horloge, the 1389 clock and its belfry
The Historial Jeanne d'Arc, in the palace where she was tried
The Fine Arts Museum and its Impressionist gallery
The Place du Vieux-Marché and the site of the pyre
The Rouen little train, with commentary in Spanish
Rouen with Teenagers
Teenagers get hooked on Rouen through the macabre and the immersive: the story of Joan of Arc told with projections in the hall where she was tried, an ossuary decorated with skulls, and the roof of the Gros-Horloge.
- What works bestThe Historial Jeanne d'Arc, with…
- Where to stayHôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert, with…
- Where to eatBrasserie Paul, opposite the cathedral
- Good to knowGuided tours are in French
What works best
- The Historial Jeanne d'Arc, with mapping projected on medieval walls
- The Aître Saint-Maclou, with its mummified cat
- The Gros-Horloge and its climb
- The painting workshop in Monet's studio
Where to stay
- Hôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert, with breakfast at €10 for ages 13 to 18
Where to eat
- Brasserie Paul, opposite the cathedral
Good to know
- Guided tours are in French
What to do with teenagers
Where to stay
Where to stay if you're flyingwithout a car
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Hôtel de la Cathédrale
Why we like it: Three-star hotel with 26 rooms in a 17th-century house on Rue Saint-Romain, next to the cathedral, with a half-timbered courtyard and a rooftop with views.
Hôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert
Why we like it: Four-star hotel dedicated to Flaubert, with 51 rooms a stone's throw from Place du Vieux-Marché, a terrace, gym, bar and private parking.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
Where to eat in Rouen
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
La Couronne
What to order: at lunchtime, the La Normandie dans l'Assiette menu for €29, Monday to Saturday
Open every day at lunchtime and in the evening · half-timbered house on the Vieux-Marché
Brasserie Paul
What to order: the Norman-style tartare with apple and calvados or the Offranville free-range chicken in cider
Open every day from 9:30 to 23:30 without a break · terrace facing the cathedral
Map
Everything on the map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Nearby
Near Rouen
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1A cathedral morning
On weekdays it closes from 12:00 to 14:00: start with it.
- 2Rouen Pass
If you are going to see the Gros-Horloge and the Historial, it pays off.
- 3SNCF ticket
The Paris metro ticket isn't valid to Rouen.
- 4Little train in Spanish
A 45-minute loop to get your bearings if you are with children.
Going on a Monday
The Gros-Horloge and the Historial are closed and the cathedral opens only in the afternoon.
Rouen was the capital of the dukes of Normandy and one of the richest cities in France in the Middle Ages. Here Joan of Arc was tried and burned in 1431, here Monet painted his series of cathedrals and here Flaubert was born. It keeps a centre of timber-framed houses, Gothic churches at every turn and a 14th-century clock that spans the street. It is on the Seine, an hour and a quarter from Paris by train, and is the best day trip from Paris towards Normandy without a car.
How do you get there from Paris?
By train from Saint-Lazare station to Rouen Rive-Droite, in about an hour and a quarter. Rouen is outside the Île-de-France region: the ticket is bought on SNCF Connect, the metro ticket isn't valid. From the station to the centre it is a walk of ten or fifteen minutes downhill along rue Jeanne d'Arc.
By car it is an hour and a half on the A13, but the centre is pedestrianised and parking costs; if you go by car, leave it in a public car park such as the one at the Vieux-Marché.
If you fly from Spain, you land at Orly or Charles de Gaulle. From Orly, metro line 14 goes direct to Saint-Lazare. Beauvais, the low-cost airport, is an hour and a half away by car.
What to see in a day?
Start with the cathedral, with the tallest spire in France and the façade Monet painted; on weekdays it closes from 12:00 to 14:00, so better first thing. Next to it is the Historial Jeanne d'Arc, an immersive tour in the palace where she was tried. Continue along rue du Gros-Horloge to the Gros-Horloge, climb to its roof and end at the Vieux-Marché square, where the pyre stood.
In the afternoon, the Fine Arts Museum, free, has one of the great Impressionist galleries in France. Or cross to the Saint-Maclou district, with rue Martainville and the Aître Saint-Maclou, an ossuary with beams carved with skulls. If you want something different, the painting workshop in Monet's studio sits you facing the cathedral, in the room where he painted it.
Which day to go?
Not on a Monday: the Gros-Horloge and the Historial are closed, and the cathedral opens only in the afternoon. Any other day will do, and on Sunday the cathedral opens without a break. In summer, stay for dinner: at dusk, the show Cathédrale de lumière projects light onto the façade. If you plan several visits, the 24-hour Rouen Pass includes the Gros-Horloge, the Historial, the little train, guided tours and public transport.
Where to eat and sleep?
The Brasserie Paul, from 1898, facing the cathedral, serves without closing every day from 9:30 to 23:30: easy food for the day. La Couronne, in the Vieux-Marché, boasts of being the oldest inn in France and has a €29 lunch menu.
To sleep, the Hôtel de la Cathédrale is in a 17th-century house next to the cathedral, with a timber-framed courtyard and roof terrace; the Hôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert, a four-star, next to the Vieux-Marché, has parking. Sleeping here lets you carry on to the Alabaster Coast, Étretat or the abbeys of the Seine.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I get from Paris to Rouen?
By train from Paris-Saint-Lazare, about an hour and a quarter. The ticket is bought from SNCF.
Can I see Rouen in a day?
Yes: cathedral, Historial, Gros-Horloge and Vieux-Marché in the morning, and a museum or the Saint-Maclou district in the afternoon.
What day are Rouen's monuments closed?
On Monday the Gros-Horloge and the Historial Jeanne d'Arc are closed.
Are Rouen's museums free?
The permanent collections of the metropolitan museums, such as the Fine Arts one, yes.
Where was Joan of Arc burned?
In the Vieux-Marché square, in 1431.