The baroque & classical side

Let’s start with the Corneille Chapeldating from the 17th century. By volume, it is the third church in Rouen after the cathedral and the abbey church of Saint-Ouen and the third Jesuit church in France. Today, it is a concert hall at the cutting edge! After a major renovation in 2016, a monumental acoustic sphere is installed in the chapel and overlooks the 600 seats making this historic heritage a most modern auditorium.

Then enter the Chapelle de la Vierge of the cathedral. It contains a magnificent altarpiece in the Baroque style, sculpted by Jean Racine between 1643 and 1645, and a painting by Philippe de Champaigne, the Adoration of the Shepherds, a masterpiece from 1629. The radiating chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pitié in the Church of Saint-Maclou is another nugget with beautiful woodwork and Louis XV-style confessionals. To close our tour of the chapels, then, push open the door of the capuchin library. And yes, we can enjoy, here, an unusual moment of reading in this former chapel of the Ursuline convent! Serenity guaranteed.

Many private hotels from the 17th and 18th centuries line the streets of Rouen. With their classical elegance and their prestigious porte cochères, they made the golden age of the merchants. Along the way, you’ll also admire the imposing Hôtel de Ville installed since May 1800 in the former dormitory of the monks of the Saint-Ouen Abbey, the former convent of the Visitation Sainte-Marie (17th century), which today houses the antiques museum and the fontaine du Gros-Horloge built in 1732.

During an escape to Elbeuf, make a stop in front of the Church of St. John with its all-baroque facade punctuated by three huge bays and a triangular pediment.

Behind its wrought iron gate, the chateau of Hautot-sur-Seine is a perfect example of classicism under Louis XV. Between the Seine and the forest, it was built on the route de Duclair for the Le Coulteux, a powerful finance family from Rouen. Today, the castle hosts all kinds of ceremonies.

On the other side of Duclair, in the Parc Naturel Régional des boucles de la Seine normande, thechateau du Taillis is one of the most beautiful private castles in the region. Unusual, its former stables house the August 44 “Hell on the Seine” museum, which recounts the final hours of the Battle of Normandy that ended right here on the banks of the Seine. Finally, the Château d’Yville, made of magnificent cut stone, is a fine example of classicism. Built in the eighteenth century, its stylerefined, with its dovecote, chapel, and enclosed park, is set in a country setting between the Seine and the hillsides.