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A city on a human scale, Rouen is an intimate port of call and the disembarkation of passengers is meticulously organized to optimize their time there. Rouen is therefore a pleasant stopover as much for cruise passengers as for passengers who are warmly expected and welcomed by the locals.

A stopover in Rouen

Cruise to Rouen in search of the most beautiful scenery in the Seine Valley, discovering Norman culture and the city’s outstanding heritage . The cruise is an excellent option to discover the wonders of Rouen and its surroundings: the green Norman countryside, the Seine and the scenery that inspired the Impressionist painters, fascinating historical sites such as Rouen Cathedral, the Joan of Arc Historial and many architectural treasures. A stopover in Rouen is an opportunity to savor French and Norman cuisine accompanied by succulent wines from the French terroir during an unforgettable gastronomic stop for your taste buds. The cruise port of Rouen provides easy access to other must-see beauties in Normandy, such as the picturesque village of Honfleur, the D-Day landing beaches in Calvados or even to Paris, the capital of France.

The cruise terminal

The Rouen cruise terminal is located on the right bank of the Seine, close to the city’s historic center. The terminal is fully equipped to accommodate a variety of river and sea cruise ships , from small vessels to large luxury liners.

The terminal has a modern reception area as well as all the services to welcome passengers during their port call: restrooms, a café, a souvenir store and a tourist information office.

The terminal offers multiple technical facilities to meet the needs of cruise ships. These facilities include a dedicated 250-meter-long berth, as well as mooring and anchorage areas for larger vessels.

This terminal also offers a range of technical services to cruise operators, including fresh water supply, electrical connections and waste collection services. It also includes a border reception center equipped with an immigration station and a customs clearance area to facilitate passenger entry and exit.

Rouen destination cruises

Historical capital of Normandy, the medieval city of Rouen constitutes the closest port to the city of Paris, located 135 km away. The Rouen Port Authority ( HAROPA ) includes the city of Rouen, the entire Seine Valley as well as Honfleur, thus facilitating the organization and billing of calls: the ship stays in the same area and is only billed once.

The Port of Rouen’s cruise terminal can accommodate ships up to 250 meters long on two berths, open 24 hours a day. Many itineraries offer overnight stops to give passengers more time on site to enjoy all the riches of the city of Rouen and take advantage of unforgettable excursions in Normandy and beyond, such as visits to Giverny, Paris and Versailles.

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Within the marketing department team, we are now mobilizing all our resources to work closely with tourism stakeholders and cruise professionals to highlight the destination’s assets, offer impeccable port of call service and provide ship passengers an unforgettable experience of the city of Rouen. Indeed, the port of Rouen is gaining in popularity and becoming a popular destination for ship owners for the greater pleasure of passengers eager to discover.

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THE BEST Rouen Boat Rides & Cruises

Boat rides & cruises in rouen.

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1. Escapade

2. Le Lutèce

welcome aboard

Normandy Cruises was created in 2013, with the acquisition of Lutece , passenger transport launch built in 1964 and who arrived in Rouen for the last festivities of l’ Armada .

Initially assigned to serve the Glénan islands in southern Brittany, this boat designed to sail at sea, offers all the security guarantees, stability and comfort for the walk and the transport of its passengers.

Normandie Croisières offers individuals and companies the opportunity to experience private or professional events on the Seine between Paris and Caudebec aboard the Lutèce, a boat offering spacious and original setting, with all amenities, cuisine, bar, sound system etc..

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Cruises on the seine.

On board the ship Lutece , discover the port of Rouen and the Norman landscapes seen from the river taking advantage of our Cruises .

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Le Lutece and his crew, are at your disposal to organize private events or professionals at quay as in navigation.

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Even confined, go to the concert ! Dock again aboard Le Lutèce – Normandie Croisières in #Rouen for a most jazzy rendezvous with Clément Landais on double bass, Gregory

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• Honeymoon spot
• Good for Adrenaline Seekers
• Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.

1. Escapade

2. Le Lutèce

Every weekend is an adventure

Paris to rouen day trip: how to get there and what to do (map included).

• Post published: 8 October 2017
• Post category: Europe / France / Normandy / Paris and suburbs

Rouen is a lovely town with great architecture and history, just 1.5 hours away from Paris. Although it has the potential to be a major tourist destination, you won’t find too many visitors in Rouen. Maybe it’s because it’s impossible to pronounce its name if you’re not French. A Paris to Rouen day trip is easy to organise and a great way to experience a picturesque Normandy town.

Is Rouen worth visiting?

Whenever I am asked the question “Is Rouen worth visiting?”, I say a bit YES! It’s one of the best and easiest day trips you can find from Paris. Whether you spend a few days in Paris and want to explore somewhere different, or you live in Paris and you’re looking for a short break , a day trip to Rouen is a great option. Rouen was built in the twists of the Seine River and was a prominent place during Roman and Medieval times. You can feel History wandering in the old cobbled pedestrian roads in the heart of the city. You pass old medieval Norman-style houses and many imposing buildings from different eras.

I lived there intermittently for about three years when I was a student. The first time I wandered around the unique town centre, I was charmed in a few minutes. Family and friends sometimes came for short visits, and I loved showing them the place.

How to plan your Paris to Rouen day trip

I only have great news about planning a Paris to Rouen day trip: you actually don’t need much planning. The tips and itinerary below may even be enough.

Rouen is the capital of Normandy, located 130 km north of Paris. It takes less than two hours to drive there from Paris and 1.5hrs on average by train.

Don’t want to drive or catch the train? You can also join a tour from Paris (click here for more information*) .

Paris to Rouen by train

Rouen is one of the best day trips from Paris by train . It’s great to visit Rouen on foot, so it’s very convenient to catch a train from Paris Saint Lazare directly to the centre of Rouen (Rouen Rive Droite). You won’t get tired from driving and won’t have to worry about parking your car.

You don’t need to book in advance, and it has always been under 25€ return for me (and more often around 20€). However, you may find better deals when you book online , and you’ll have access to express trains (Train Nomad) that will take you to Rouen in only 1h15. It’s also often quicker to purchase tickets online rather than at the train station.

The first train usually leaves Paris Saint Lazare at 5h46, and the last train from Rouen to Paris Saint Lazare is usually at 21h01. So you’ll be able to spend a full long day in Rouen. You can view the train timetables on the SNCF website .

Saint Lazare station is the second busiest train station in Paris. Trains to go to Rouen leave from Level 1 (Niveau 1). There are 27 platforms, so make sure you’re there in advance to have time to find yours.

Paris to Rouen by car

If you come by car, I recommend finding a spot to park your car for the day and walk. Driving in Rouen isn’t easy. There are many narrow and one-way streets. It’s often much quicker to walk from one point to another. And it’s also the best way to see all the stunning buildings in the old town.

Responsible travel tip : Travelling by train has a lower impact on the environment than driving.

How do you spend a day in Rouen?

Here’s a one-day itinerary with my favourite things to do in Rouen for a day trip. The number refers to the order of the visit as you walk in Rouen and find these places rather than an order of preference. There’s a map at the end of the article with a suggested itinerary for your day in Rouen.

1. Start at the beautiful Rouen train station

If you took a train from Paris to Rouen, take a few minutes to have a look at the station and its belfry when you get out.

2. Check out the Joan of Arc Tower (Tour Jeanne d’Arc)

The Tour Jeanne d’Arc is the only part left of the Castle of Rouen, built in the early 13th century. If you have time, speak French and want to experience history, they organise escape games in the tower  late in the afternoon. I haven’t tried it, but I like the idea!

3. Visit the Beaux-Arts Museum

The Beaux-Arts Museum is free and is France’s second-biggest impressionist art gallery! It opens at 10 am, so it can be hard to fit in a short-day itinerary. If you don’t have time to go in, it’s still a nice building to see from the outside.

4. Palais de Justice

The Palais de Justice  is a fascinating building. I’ve walked past this masterpiece hundreds of times, and I could always spot a new detail on the Gargoyles.

5. Go to where Joan of Arc was executed: Place du Vieux Marché

Place du Vieux Marché is full of history. It’s the place where the French heroine Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431 when Rouen was under the English rule. The new church has interesting modern architecture that contrasts a lot with the old monuments in Rouen. There are many squares in this area to enjoy drinks on a terrace. Place de la Pucelle was my favourite at the time.

6. Admire the fascinating clock (Gros Horloge)

The Gros Horloge is an iconic monument that goes over a busy, paved pedestrian street with half-timbered houses between Place du Vieux Marché and the Cathedral. You can visit it for the single experience of being inside a clock, and the fantastic views of the roofs and the Cathedral. It is one of the oldest working clocks in Europe: the Renaissance arch is from the 16th century, but the mechanism is from the 14th century.

7. Notre Dame Cathedral

As you go down Gros Horloge Street, you cannot miss the majestic Cathedral of Notre Dame . During summer (June to September), there’s a light show on the Cathedral at night (check timetables here ) that you don’t want to miss if you chose to spend one night in the town. There was already a church there in the 4th century. It says a lot about the great past of Rouen. This Cathedral has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, so there is an interesting mix of styles there. I first saw the cathedral in Monet’s famous series of paintings . It is also famous for having the highest spire in France (151 m).

8. Saint Maclou church and Rue Eau de Robec

Then, you can wander towards St Maclou church and get lost in the small streets around. There are many restaurants for lunch. I recommend stopping at the lovely  Rue Eau de Robec .

9. Gardens and Abbatiale St Ouen

If you finish your lunch before 2 pm, take a walk in the Jardins de l’Hotel de Ville (Town Hall Gardens) and admire the Abbatiale St Ouen , one of Rouen’s most famous buildings. It will open again at 2 pm for visits, and it’s worth a look inside.

10. Climb Saint Catherine Hill for the best views of the city

Rouen is surrounded by small mounts. It is not ideal for the climate, but it provides a great bird’s eye view of the city when the weather is clear. The most accessible one is Colline Sainte Catherine (Saint Catherine Hill). You’ll have to walk up there (about 3km) so allow one hour. It can be a great spot for sunset. From the Hotel de Ville bus stop, you can catch Bus 20 and stop at Cimetière du Mont Gargan. In 10 to 15 minutes, you’ll be near the start of the walk. You can check bus trips and timetables on this website .

11. Cruise the Seine River to the Port of Rouen

It might be hard to fit in a cruise on just a day trip to Rouen. But if you’re interested in visiting an inland port with economic importance (it’s not a seducing idea for everyone), it’s worth checking out if the crew from La Lutece are running tours on the day of your visit. The Port of Rouen used to be the main port in France for centuries and remains an important port today. If you don’t speak French, ask in advance if commentaries will be available in English. Hopefully, it has changed since I lived in Rouen.

Where to stay in Rouen

If you’re planning to stay longer in Rouen than just a day trip, I recommend staying in the town centre. There are many accommodation options, and you can easily walk from one place to another.

If you’re looking for something special, the Hotel de Bourgtheroulde *, with its beautiful courtyard views, is one of the most charming options in Rouen. The Hotel de la Cathedrale * is perfectly located and also has a lot of character. Otherwise, one of the cheapest options to stay in Rouen City Centre at a walking distance from the best parts of the old town is the Hôtel du Palais *.

Have you ever done a Paris to Rouen day trip? Share your experience in the comments below!

Interactive map of my one-day itinerary in rouen.

If you manage to catch an early train, you should be able to experience all these activities on a Paris to Rouen day trip.

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What a lovely little city! This looks like it would be a great place to live. I’ve never been to Rouen before, despite several trips to France – I’ve spent most of my time in the south of the country.

Yes, I really enjoyed living there. Plus, it’s not far from Paris, and not far from the coast. The weather was the only downside: a bit too rainy and cold for me 😉 The South of France is lovely, but very different from the regions in the north. If you ever get the opportunity to travel to Brittany, Normandy and the East of France, you’ll discover other facets of the country!

This looks like a great day away from the city. Rouen looks charming!

Thanks, Anya. It’s a very different atmosphere compared to Paris and the half-timbered houses makes the architecture quite different as well!

Travel really changes your life. Beautiful photography too. Love your blog. Keep it up! :1

Thank you, Sonika. I appreciate the encouragements 🙂

What a great tour you have provided. The village looks beautiful and is filled with such history.

Thank you! It’s actually quite bigger than a village (a small city from a French point of view), but the most interesting places are in the small area of the old city centre. It makes it easy to wander around 🙂

I’ve never heard of Rouen before, but it sounds like an awesome idea for a trip from Paris! I love knowing that it’s easy to get there from Paris, and that most of the museums are free!

Yes, we’re very fortunate with our train network in France. It’s easy and often not expensive to go to regional cities from Paris.

I always dream to go to Paris. I hope I could go there in the near future. Your post is very informative, and very helpful. thanks for this.

Thank you. Paris is epic, I hope you’ll have a chance to see it soon.

This is a great post about Rouen. The architecture is beautiful, specially walking by scenic river Seine. I went there years ago on a school trip but didn’t get to see a lot. I will definitely go again now as I fell in love with medieval towns!

Wow! That’s a great school trip, lucky you! 🙂 I love seeing again places I visited as a kid. I get very surprised sometimes!

You’re a pro! I loved reading this? it’s so cool how you add the responsible travel tips – thanks ?

Thank you, Karolina. I find it important to raise awareness so people can decide to make “better” choices, so I’m happy you like them 😀

I should have visited this place when I was in Paris. I had so much free time in Paris and didn’t know what to do… Rouen looks so lovely and nice. I’d love to visit the Beaux-Arts Museum 🙂

Thank you so much for this helpful post! I have noted it and the days adventures if we go to Rouen in a few weeks!

We did this day trip from Paris yesterday. Rouen is absolutely beautiful. Besides the Musée des Beaux-Arts (which was terrific), there are an additional 7 free museums – check out the brochure you can pick up when visiting the Beaux-Arts museum. We mostly followed your path, but took so many side detours when something captured our fancy, so we didn’t have a chance to walk up the hill for a sunset. A one day visit was well-spent, but an additional day might be nice. We will return for an additional day some other time! Thanks for the guidance!

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THE 10 BEST Day Trips from Rouen

Day trips from rouen.

• Rouen to Giverny
• Rouen to Deauville City
• Rouen to Mont-Saint-Michel
• Rouen to Le Havre
• Rouen to Paris
• Rouen to Arromanches-les-Bains
• Rouen to Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer
• Rouen to Falaise
• Up to 1 hour
• 1 to 4 hours
• 4 hours to 1 day
• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 2.0 of 5 bubbles & up
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• The ranking of tours, activities, and experiences available on Tripadvisor is determined by several factors including the revenue generated by Tripadvisor from these bookings, the frequency of user clicks, and the volume and quality of customer reviews. Occasionally, newly listed offerings may be prioritized and appear higher in the list. The specific placement of these new listings may vary.

1. Discover the Dday beaches in Normandy.

2. Private Tour: Rouen, Bayeux, and Falaise Day Trip from Rouen

3. Private Tour: Rouen and Giverny Day Trip from Bayeux

4. Private day tour to Giverny Gardens and Rouen from Paris

5. Learn French naturally with our Normandy & Paris Impressionist tour for adults.

6. A day in Mont Saint Michel !

7. Private Guided Tour In Normandy - Rouen, Honfleur, Etretat (ex)

8. Private Rouen, Giverny Day trip from Paris with Michelin Lunch

9. Private Tour: D-Day Beaches from Rouen

10. Private Normandy Rouen, Honfleur, Etretat Day trip from Paris

11. Private Normandy Live guided trip to Rouen — Honfleur — Deauville

12. Private Tour: Rouen and Giverny Day Trip from Caen

13. From Le Havre - WWII - American Landing Beaches Discovery Private Tour

14. Private round transfer to Rouen, Honfleur, Deauville from Paris

15. Giverny and Rouen Private Full Day Tour from Paris Van and Guide

16. Private Rouen Giverny Honfleur Live Guided by Mercedes from Paris

17. Giverny & Rouen Private Tour from Paris

18. Private Tour: Rouen, Bayeux, and Falaise Day Trip from Bayeux

Keep the fun going with other experiences in the area.

D-Day Beaches Shore Excursion with Packed Lunch from Le Havre

All-in-One Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches and Lunch from Le Havre

From Le Havre: Paris Seine River Cruise and Highlights Shore Trip

Normandy Battlefields D-Day Private Trip with VIP Services from Paris

Versailles Palace and Giverny Private Guided Tour from Paris

Versailles Palace & Giverny Private Guided Tour with Lunch - Priority Access

Private Tour to Mont-Saint-Michel From Paris

Private 10-hour Shore Excursion to Paris from Le Havre (official guide in Paris)

Guided tour of Claude Monet's house in Giverny by private car from Paris

Full Day Private Tour of Normandy American Sites from Le Havre

Private Tour: Full Day Tour of Mont Saint-Michel from Le Havre

From Honfleur or Le Havre Port: Private D-Day Beaches Shore Trip

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Discover Le Havre, Where Impressionism Was Born

The movement was named for a seascape Monet painted in this often-overlooked city, France’s largest seaport. But it has a museum full of Impressionist canvases, intriguing architecture and a new energy.

By Elaine Sciolino

As the fog of dawn lifted one morning in mid-November 1872, Claude Monet looked out the window of his hotel room in the French city of Le Havre and furiously painted his vision of its industrial harbor. He flung his brush with quick strokes and played with the water, stretching it with rays of color.

In one sitting, he created “Impression, Sunrise,” a painting of a vivid orange sun with its reflection shimmering in the sea.

In 1874, Monet, who grew up in Le Havre on the Normandy coast, included the painting in an exhibition of 30 artists’ work organized in response to the Paris Salon, an annual showcase of academic art. The critic Louis Leroy denounced “The Exhibition of the Impressionists” and mocked the title of Monet’s painting. “An impression, I’m sure,” he wrote. “I thought to myself, this has made an impression on me so there must be impressions somewhere in there.”

Impressionism was born.

This year, France is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the movement. In Paris, the Musée d’Orsay is exhibiting 130 works from and related to the 1874 exhibition and offering a one-hour immersive tour with virtual reality headsets. It is sending 178 other works to more than 30 museums throughout France.

The Musée Marmottan , which owns “Impression, Sunrise,” has agreed to lend it to the Orsay until July for its exhibition “Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism” and to the National Gallery in Washington where the exhibition travels in September.

But to discover a fresh and unexpected view of Impressionism requires a visit to Le Havre, France’s most important seaport and its most underappreciated big city.

Snubbed by tourists

Once there was a direct New York-to-Le Havre route on the French Line, whose luxury cruise liners pampered rich Americans with fancy suites and fine French cuisine. Le Havre was their first point of entry into the Old World.

But in more recent times, cruises and tour operators preferred to take their passengers to the Normandy beaches and to charming, quaint Honfleur on the other side of the Seine estuary, rather than to gritty Le Havre. Even today, many Parisians have never visited.

“It used to be that people who came from Le Havre rarely admitted it,” said Édouard Philippe, the mayor of Le Havre and a former French prime minister, in an interview. “People made fun of them. A bit like how people from New Jersey got used to being made fun of because they lived on industrial land that was less beautiful than New York. That all changed. Le Havre is now in fashion.”

To prove his point, he picked up a coffee mug with an intersecting L and H — the new emblem of Le Havre that adorns products — like T-shirts and tote bags — sold throughout the city.

It’s worth a trip to Le Havre just to visit the Musée d’Art Moderne André Malraux , which opened in 1961.

With its white walls, steel frame and floor-to-ceiling glass facade that gives a view out to the sea, the museum allows visitors to revel in the light — luminous and somber — produced by the fickle weather of Normandy. A second-floor balcony that looks out over the museum’s outdoor esplanade and the sea adds to the feeling of openness.

“There was a desire from the beginning to make the museum open to the great spectacle of the changing elements outside,” said Géraldine Lefebvre, the museum’s director.

MuMa, as it is called, has arguably the most important collection of Impressionist paintings in France outside the Musée d’Orsay ( Rouen’s Musée des Beaux-Arts makes the same claim). MuMa’s collection is also home to some of the world’s most famous paintings from the Fauvist movement that followed. And unlike the gridlocked Orsay, MuMa is always gloriously undervisited.

“Go to the Orsay, and then come here,” said Ms. Lefebvre. “We battle a little with Rouen, but in terms of the numbers of works and their quality, we are No. 2.”

Ms. Lefebvre has studied and written about Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise.” She worked for a year with Donald Olson, a Texas State University astronomer and physics professor who used topographical, meteorological and astrological studies to calculate the precise date and time of its creation. According to Dr. Olson, she said, Monet painted it at 7:35 a.m. on Nov. 13, 1872.

The Hotel de l’Amirauté, where Monet stayed when he painted “Impression, Sunrise,” is long gone — replaced by a modern apartment building with a bar-bistro and a gift shop on the ground floor.

Ms. Lefebvre and I visited the site, and she captured the scene: “It was winter; the temperature was freezing. The wind was blowing from the west. The light was just coming up from the sea. The moment the sun came up, he worked in one great burst of energy.”

Rebuilt after World War II

Le Havre is not an ancient city like Paris. When the French king François I created the port of Le Havre in 1517, priority was to create “un havre” — a harbor — that would serve as both a military site to protect France from invaders and a commercial port to open Paris to the world. The city was an afterthought.

Trade exploded over time. Wealthy merchants built grand homes in the coastal town of Sainte-Adresse, northwest of Le Havre.

In August 1944, the British Air Force rained bombs on the city and its inhabitants; 2,000 civilians were killed, 80,000 were left homeless and more than 80 percent of the city was destroyed.

In the 1950s, the French architect Auguste Perret , working with a tight budget and on a deadline, oversaw Le Havre’s reconstruction. A master of precast concrete, he used the cheap, plentiful material to build 150 residential blocks with identical modular frames, a rectangular grid system of streets, and wide sidewalks and boulevards. All the apartments had central heat and modern appliances.

The buildings once were considered ugly. At first glance, they all look alike; then you discover that the concrete came in different shades — creamy beige, gray, taupe, khaki, terra-cotta, ocher — and that the geometric columns and beams were finished with varying patterns and textures (from mottled stone to a smooth velvety feel).

“My concrete is more beautiful than stone,” Perret said. “I work it, I chisel it.”

Perret’s geometric architecture has aged well, and midcentury design is now chic. In 2005, Le Havre was the first example of French Modern architecture to achieve UNESCO World Heritage classification , cited as a model of urban experimentation and reconstruction. (Visitors can take a guided tour of a model apartment in a Perret building .)

Perret’s St. Joseph’s Church , completed in 1957, three years after his death, soars to 350 feet and resembles a small-scale New York City skyscraper. Concrete columns rise to angled buttresses and an octagonal cupola. The steeple is lined with more than 12,000 panes of stained glass.

Inside the church, Philippe Mariette, a retired architect who knew Perret, told me to look up at the reflections from the colored panels that dance on the unadorned walls. “No matter how many times I lift my head, I am always astonished,” he said.

A transformed city center

Le Havre has undergone an architectural transformation in recent years. In the center of town is Le Volcan , a partly underground complex designed by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. It consists of a volcano-shaped theater and a smaller crater converted into a library — with quirky seating pods that are great for kids. On the waterfront is Les Bains des Docks , a swimming complex and spa with pools, hammams, Jacuzzis and solariums designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel; inspired by ancient Roman baths, it is covered in 32 million tiny mosaic tiles. Nearby is the Docks Vauban , a mall with a cinema, restaurants and high-end boutiques.

There is one place in Le Havre that captures the city in time. The Maison de l’Armateur , the mansion of a family of shipowners-merchants and now a museum, is one of the city’s only surviving buildings from the 18th century, with a facade sculpted in Louis XVI style.

Wedged between tall buildings on the quay facing the port, where fishing boats and ferries are moored, it is designed like a tower around an octagonal light shaft and skylight, with rooms on five levels, including the ground floor, where a warehouse and stables were located. The house contains living quarters, a study, portraits, cabinets of curiosities, a library, a map room and a kitchen — all evoking the daily life of the bourgeoisie.

A garden where Monet painted

In the summer of 1867, while visiting his aunt in Sainte-Adresse, Monet painted “Garden at Sainte-Adresse,” which now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

“People know Sainte-Adresse because of the painting,” said François Rosset, a longtime resident who is president of its heritage association. “It’s a formidable vehicle for our town.”

Years ago, Sainte-Adresse refused to give up its independent status and become part of Le Havre. But a three-mile pedestrian and biking trail along the waterfront connects the town and the center of Le Havre. Part of the town was destroyed during the bombings, but many of the old estates on the outskirts were untouched.

Monet’s aunt’s house, which is privately owned, stays empty for much of the year. The main gate to the garden entrance was open on the day I visited. An employee on the grounds let me in for a peek at the site, with its red brick house with white shutters. .

Hubert Dejan de la Bâtie, the mayor of Sainte-Adresse, has dreams of buying and renovating the house and transforming the area into a tourist attraction.

“Maybe I can’t do as well as Giverny,” he said in an interview, referring to the house where Monet lived for 43 years. “But Monet spent his childhood in Le Havre, and maybe we can do a second center for Monet tourism here. We just have to make the project sexy.”

The train from Paris to Le Havre takes approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes. One-way tickets start from an average of €16 (or about $17) when booked in advance through SNCF Connect .

Hôtel Vent d’Ouest Le Havre is in the city center, across the street from St. Joseph Church, a four-minute walk from the harbor and a seven-minute walk from Le Volcan. Cozy and refined country-style décor. Rooms start at €117.

Hôtel Mercure Le Havre Centre Bassin du Commerce , an ultramodern hotel with décor inspired by the port’s containers, is centrally located only a 15-minute walk from the Maison de l’Armateur and MuMa, and a 10-minute walk from the railway station. Rooms start at €98.

Le Bistrot des Halles offers authentic French cuisine in a charming retro setting, with walls decorated with old metal advertising signs. A favorite of locals (about €20 per person for lunch).

Les Fauves , a cafe and restaurant at MuMa, serves versions of French classics and creative desserts in an upscale room with views of the water (about €20 to €30 per person for lunch).

Elaine Sciolino is a contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for The New York Times, based in France since 2002. Her newest book, “Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love With the World’s Greatest Museum,” will be published in 2025. In 2010, she was decorated a chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest honor of the French state.

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Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .