Sculptures - Facade of Notre-Dame Cathedral in RouenAdmire the 12th century Saint-Romain tower which houses the most imposing carillon in France. Observe the decorations of the portal of the Booksellers and that of the Calende dating from the 14th century. Contemplate the beauty of the western façade with its unusual width of 61m and its 70 sculpted figures. Enjoy the Butter Tower which, since the 16th century, has been named after the donations made by diocesans to obtain the right to eat butter during Lent. And be stunned by the cast iron spire, built in the 19th century, which rises to 151m.
Rouen Cathedral - Monet Window
Carillon - Notre-Dame de Rouen Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Rouen Cathedral - Claude Monet
Notre-Dame de Rouen CathedralIt is an exceptional journey into the Gothic period that the Rouen Notre Dame Cathedral offers us. One can follow the evolution of the style over several centuries. The Saint-Romain tower from the 12th century, the portal of the Booksellers and the portal of the Calende from the 14th century, the western facade and the tower of Butter from the 15th and 16th centuries as well as the cast iron spire from the 19th century. Admire the beauty of its facade with an unusual width of 61m. It is richly decorated with 70 figures, sculpted between 1362 and 1421. Rouen Cathedral also has the particularity, rare in France, of preserving its archiepiscopal palace and its annex buildings.
What if we told you to grab a mirror and chalk to tour the cathedral? The “Cathedral Measures and Excesses” guided tour is unprecedented and appeals to your senses. Feel the vertigo of the monument’s dimensions, soak up the resonance of its acoustics and play with the principles of its architectureGothic. Equipped with rope, headphones and various tools, you are the actor of your visit. Nave, transept, choir have no more secrets for you. You become aware, sensorially, of the richness of this exceptional building.
A Guided Tour That Appeals To Your Senses
Painting by Claude Monet - Rouen Cathedral, morningClaude Monet made no mistake about it. Overwhelmed by the beauty of the Rouen Cathedral, he painted it tirelessly in series of paintings that became masterpieces that toured the world. Between 1892 and 1893, the master of Impressionism painted the monument from different vantage points and at different times of day. In particular, he depicts the cathedral as seen from the Albanian courtyard. These canvases were first done outdoors, then in a studio on the second floor of the Finance Office, the current tourist information point in Rouen. It produces twenty-eight views of the western portal at different times of the day according to variations in light.
As long as the sun is on it, there will be as many ways of being Rouen Cathedral as man can make divisions in time.
It is the most imposing in France and has been fully restored for the pleasure of the ears and eyes of visitors. For those who would like to approach it up close, you have to climb the 150 steps of the St. Romai Towern to reach the famous carillon! A tour with a guide and the carillonneur in person allows you to observe the prodigious mechanics of the instrument up close. We discover the keyboard made up of keys that the carillonneur presses with his fists to operate the 64 bells that can be heard for 5km around. Each of them has a name: Joan of Arc, Germaine, … It’s up to you to discover them!
In The Secrets Of The Great Lady, Unusual VisitsWant to go down into the cathedral’s remains? Some places, usually closed to the public, open up during “Unusual Cathedral” tours, revealing a little more of the prestigious building. Thus, one can enter the Virgin Chapel or rush into the Romanesque crypt to go back to the source of the monument’s construction on which the builders based their work, around the year 1000, to build the Gothic edifice. A candlelight tour “If Objects Could Talk” takes you, by night, to meet the cathedral’s inhabitants.
Every summer, at dusk, the cathedral metamorphoses into a sound and light show of great beauty. The themes change regularly, taking us into the epic of Joan of Arc, the Viking adventure or the impressionist movement. Collections always magical at the crossroads of history and modernity. The new technologies of these monumental projections make this giant of Rouen’s heritage vibrate. You will dream, eyes wide open!
Cathedral Of Light
