Rouen packed more European history into one riverbend than cities ten times its size: the tomb of Richard the Lionheart's heart, the tower where Joan of Arc faced her torturers in 1431, and a plague cemetery carved with dancing skeletons.
Begun 1030, the Gothic nave from 1145. The ambulatory holds the recumbent effigy of Rollo, first Duke of Normandy (d. 932), and the casket that held Richard the Lionheart's heart, bequeathed to Rouen in 1199. Free entry, open 09:00-19:00 Tue-Sat.
Beneath the Flamboyant Gothic law courts lies the oldest Jewish building in France, a Romanesque hall from around 1100 discovered in 1976 during works. Hebrew graffiti survives on the walls. Guided visits only, booked via Rouen Tourist Office.
The last standing tower of the 1204 royal castle, where Joan of Arc was brought on 9 May 1431 and shown the instruments of torture to force a confession. Three floors of vaulted chambers with the trial documentation. Open Wed-Mon.
A courtyard ossuary built after the 1348 Black Death killed three-quarters of Rouen. The oak galleries added 1526-1533 are carved with gravediggers' tools, skulls and a danse macabre frieze. Bones filled the attics until 1780. Free entry, 09:00-20:00.
Housed in the palace where Joan's 1431 condemnation and 1456 rehabilitation trials were both held. The immersive route projects trial transcripts onto the medieval walls, following the 70 interrogation sessions. Open Tue-Sun 09:45-18:00.
Every Seine bridge here was destroyed in the 1944 'Semaine Rouge' (30 May-5 June), when Allied raids flattened the left bank and killed roughly 1,500 civilians. The rebuilt 1955 span faces the reconstructed quarter, an open-air lesson in postwar France.
Founded 1801 by Napoleonic decree to redistribute art seized in the Revolution. Beyond the Impressionists, the 17th-19th century galleries document Norman parliamentary power and the confiscated abbey treasures. Open Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00.
The movement dates from 1389, among the oldest working clockworks in Europe; the Renaissance arch was built in 1529 so citizens could read the hour. The single hand shows hours, the upper oculus the moon phase over 29 days.
A 14th-16th century Benedictine abbey church, 137 m long — larger than the cathedral. Joan of Arc made her forced abjuration in the adjoining cemetery on 24 May 1431. The Cavaillé-Coll organ of 1890 survives untouched. Open Tue-Sun.
A stream once ran open here carrying dye from the wool workshops; the little footbridges to each doorway are original. Flaubert set scenes of Madame Bovary in this street, and the tall drying lofts under the gables are still visible.
Gustave Flaubert was born here in 1821 in the Hôtel-Dieu, where his father was chief surgeon. The apartment is preserved beside a collection of 18th-century obstetric mannequins, bleeding instruments and an anatomical wax. Tue-Sat 14:00-18:00.
The densest surviving cluster of Rouen's 2,000 half-timbered houses, most rebuilt 1490-1550 after fires. Leaning jetties overhang the square because taxes were charged on ground-floor footprint, so upper storeys were pushed outwards.