Rouen, Normandy, France
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Rouen
A Gothic cathedral in Normandy that Claude Monet painted more than thirty times, with a facade so densely carved it looks woven, and a cast-iron spire that is the tallest in France.
Monet set up his easel across the street and painted this facade at different hours, in different light, over and over — more than thirty canvases between 1892 and 1894. When you stand where he stood and look at the real thing, you understand why. The west front is an encyclopedia of Gothic carving, so densely layered with figures, gables, pinnacles, and tracery that it seems to shift and ripple depending on the angle of the sun. The two towers are mismatched — the Tour Saint-Romain on the left is Romanesque at its base, Early Gothic above, while the Tour de Beurre on the right is Flamboyant Gothic, supposedly funded by indulgence payments from wealthy Normans who wanted to eat butter during Lent. The cast-iron spire, added in the nineteenth century, reaches 151 meters and makes this the tallest cathedral in France. Inside, the nave is wide and luminous, with a four-story elevation that shows Gothic engineering at its most refined. The ambulatory holds the tombs of Rollo the Viking, the first Duke of Normandy, and Richard the Lionheart, whose heart was buried here in a lead casket. Joan of Arc was burned in this city's marketplace in 1431 — the cathedral she never entered but whose spire she could see from the stake.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Rouen
Style: Gothic (Romanesque, Early Gothic, Rayonnant, and Flamboyant periods)
What to See
Start across the street from the west facade to take it all in. The carved figures in the portals include an elaborate Tree of Jesse and dozens of saints. Note the two different towers — the older, simpler one on the left and the ornate Butter Tower on the right. Inside, the nave has a clarity that the busy exterior does not prepare you for. The ambulatory chapels hold several notable tombs, including the reliquary of Richard the Lionheart's heart and the recumbent effigy of Rollo the Viking. The stained glass ranges from medieval panels to modern windows by Max Ingrand replacing those destroyed in World War II. The Booksellers' Staircase in the north transept is a spectacular piece of Flamboyant Gothic tracery.
Pilgrim Notes
Rouen is about ninety minutes by train from Paris's Gare Saint-Lazare. The cathedral is in the pedestrianized old city center. There is no admission fee. Mass is celebrated daily. The Place du Vieux-Marché, where Joan of Arc was burned, is a five-minute walk from the cathedral and has a modern church dedicated to her. The cathedral was damaged in World War II bombings and has been carefully restored. Summer light shows project Monet's paintings onto the facade on weekend evenings — they are worth seeing. The old city around the cathedral has half-timbered houses, good restaurants, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts with several Monet cathedral paintings.