Rouen – the Historic Capital of Normandy

It is chiefly due to two very different women that Rouen, a wealthy and cultured city, is known to American travelers. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in the Place du Vieux-Marché in 1431. The second, an unusually tall Californian, rolled into town in 1948 after a trans-Atlantic crossing and went to lunch at La Couronne, where she ate oysters and sole meunière. “The whole experience was an opening up of the soul and spirit for me,” Julia Child later said of this meal. “I was hooked, and for life, as it turned out.” Child went on to become the woman who taught Americans how to appreciate and to cook French food. In homage to her accomplishments, La Couronne still serves “Julia Child’s Menu,” which faithfully replicates the feast. (Another excellent place is the two-star Restaurant Gill down on the banks of the Seine.)

Though it was badly damaged during World War II, Rouen still has a charming medieval quarter. The magnificent high Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame, built during the 13th and 14th centuries, contains a tomb of Richard the Lionheart and was also a recurring subject 
for Monet when he lived in nearby Giverny. The excellent Musée des Beaux-Arts, one of the best provincial museums in France, displays one of these canvases, along with works by Géricault, Boudin 
and others.

Should you wish to overnight in Rouen, you might try the 78-room Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde. I have yet to stay here, but friends who have were extremely impressed. Created from a 15th-century building, it has an ideal central location, on-site parking — essential in Rouen — and a Carita spa 
with a large indoor swimming pool.