An Historical and architectural discovery of Rouen.

After exploring Rouen’s train station used by Flaubert as a setting in *Madame Bovary*, we will observe the Keep of Rouen. we’ll discuss the city’s medieval History, its connection to the Vikings, and its role in the Hundred Years’ War. We’ll also discuss the original castle of which the keep is the last remaining vestige. We’ll then stop in front of the site where Joane of Arc was imprisoned, as well as the site of her execution, the Place of the Old Market. This same square is home to the oldest inn in France and the modern-style Sainte Joane of Arc Church, which we’ll take the time to admire, along with the many Norman half-timbered houses. We’ll then pass beneath the Gros Horloge, one of Europe’s oldest continuously operating clocks, adorned with exquisite decorations. Next, we’ll explore the Gothic Notre-Dame of Rouen Cathedral—which served as a model for the painter Claude Monet—the tallest cathedral in France and the tallest building in the world during the 19th century. We’ll then stop at the Aitre Saint-Maclou, a former cemetery for plague victims from the Middle Ages, where a somber atmosphere hangs in the air, accentuated by its macabre setting. We’ll then walk through the antique dealers’ district and eau de robec street with their cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses. We’ll conclude our tour at the Palace of Justice, one of the most beautiful gothic monument. Beneath it  lies La Maison Sublime, one of the oldest Jewish buildings in France.