Le Havre to Rouen

[Tikiman]

Le Havre

 

We decided that we didn't want to spend the day on the bus or train for such a short time in Paris so we decided to go to Rouen instead. There was shuttle to the town center, but we decided to walk.

 

We got a map of La Havre AND a walking tour map of Rouen at the cruise terminal information. The walk was longer than we thought and the train station was a little tricky to find. There were some nameless streets on the map and several streets themselves had no signs. We finally asked a local man who promptly invited into his car and drove us to the station. So much for the bad French attitude. The train to Rouen was only 45 minutes.

 

The Rouen map they gave us at the terminal in Le Havre had sights to see and/or just scenic walks through the more interesting parts of town. The first sight we hit from the train station was the Tower where Joan of Arc was held before being burnt at the stake. It's very old, but I'm not really sure it was actually a re-creation or not as there was no English to be found. Everything was in French. (I know, I know, what do you expect in France, but I found that every other country had several different languages for the info in their historical sights... including England.) It was fun to climb to the top of the tower, but not really worth the money.

 

We followed our map all over town and it's terribly charming. All the half timbered, slightly leaning houses looked right out of fairy tale or an opera set and it's a much bigger town than I thought. At one time it was the second largest city in France after Paris. We pretty much went to all the monuments and famous buildings with the highlight being the Notre Dame Cathedral of Rouen. The facade is famous as it has appeared in many paintings by Monet. We also enjoyed spending time at the Museum de Beaux Arts. We pretty much rushed through to the impressionists so we could spend time looking at the Monets and Renoirs.

 

There's a very modern church on the sight where Joan was actually burned which looks a little out of place to me, but the market square is a great place for an outdoor lunch. Rouen is not terribly English friendly, so bring a phrase book if you don't speak French. In general though, all the people we encountered in Le Havre and Rouen were especially nice and friendly... doing all they can to dispel the "French are rude" myth.

 

We spent all day in Rouen and could have stayed longer. I'm very glad we opted to go there instead of Paris. I've been to Paris and there's simply too much to see in 4 hours.

 

I think the cab back to the ship was around 10 Euro because of all the traffic. We were hoping to share with another couple, but it took us 10 minutes to find the taxi stand.

[babylene]

Hi again! We plan to go to Honfleur. Was there also a map of Honfleur at the cruise terminal?

[Tikiman]

I don't know if there was a map, but when we arrived there was a very helpful woman to help us sort out the best possible decision. We were interested in Honfleur AND Rouen and trying to see if there was a way to do both in one day. She said unless you got a private cab, it was not really do-able in one day.

 

She had a lot of info, so I imagine she would've had something about Honfleur...

[Wendy The Wanderer]

How about a day trip from Honfleur to Rouen. Our ship docks in Honfleur, and I'm wondering, I think we have 9 hours. Is there enough around Honfleur to warrant staying there for the day? I'm not interested in the Normandy beaches or Paris. But Rouen sounds enchanting! But if Honfleur is enchanting too...

[dbh62ark]

I hate to throw a kink in your planning, but Honfleur is charming too! :) We had a driver that took us there and to Deauville and Treauville (sp?) all in one day.

 

Donna

[Wendy The Wanderer]

No, hardly a kink, since we will be docking in Honfleur. So maybe we'll just stay. Was it easily walkable? (I have plenty of time to plan, cruise isn't until next summer, just lining up the options!)

[dbh62ark]

I tried to answer you earlier, but this dang web site has been acting up so much lately.

 

Yes, Roen was easily walkable, and it was lovely too.

 

Hope you have a great trip,

Donna

[NorthernLite]

Le Havre

 

We decided that we didn't want to spend the day on the bus or train for such a short time in Paris so we decided to go to Rouen instead. There was shuttle to the town center, but we decided to walk.

 

We got a map of La Havre AND a walking tour map of Rouen at the cruise terminal information. The walk was longer than we thought and the train station was a little tricky to find. There were some nameless streets on the map and several streets themselves had no signs. We finally asked a local man who promptly invited into his car and drove us to the station. So much for the bad French attitude. The train to Rouen was only 45 minutes.

 

I know it has been awhile and this isn't something most people remember but... Do you remember if the train entrance from LeHarve to Rouen and return were at grade? I use a wheelchair and this is important information. By at grade I mean did you have to climb down and then back up stairs to get to the tracks? If not did you see any elevators to the trains?

 

I've also done paris in my younger army days and always had Rouen on my "to do" list but never made it. Hoping to this cruise. Much thanks.

 

Sue

[Queenk2]

I would love to have the name of the driver/company that took you to Rouen/Deauville and Honfleur. I have been to Le Harve, but not Rouen. Deauville/ Honfluer are charming and I would not hesitate to do them again!

Karen Queenk2@aol.com

[edinburgher]

Tikiman, thanks for the Rouen info which I enjoyed reading.

 

 

We are in Le Havre next week on Marco Polo, arriving one day at 1300 and overnighting until 1600 the next day. Hoping to visit both Honfleur and Rouen, one on each day. Your post is helping us decide how much time to allow for Rouen itself although we have to work around train times.

 

Would you say that 2 or 2 and 1/2 hours max. is too little for Rouen? If we do Rouen on day 2 thats all we would have time for as we need to work around train schedules and be back in time for sailing. Our other option is to do Rouen on day 1 but only if we can catch the one and only train after docking which would get us there by 3pm. This would mean we could have longer as theres many more trains in the early evening and we would still be back in time for dinner. We could have 3 or 4 hours there.

 

Thanks for any input on this.