Rouen City Tour & Château Du Champ De Bataille Gardens
This excellent excursion takes us first to Rouen. Monet lived here and devoted himself to capturing the majesty of Rouen’s Cathédrale de Nôtre Dame – where Richard the Lionheart’s actual heart lies entombed. The River Seine splits Rouen into a Left Bank (the vibrant modern city) and the Right Bank (the exquisite Old Quarter) resulting in a harmonious mix of historic and modern attractions. These range from the famous Renaissance public clock and the Old Market Square (opposite the now peaceful park in which Joan of Arc was burned), stylish fashion districts, bars and cafés. In addition to a museum and church in honour of the patron saint of France, there’s also La Tour Jeanne d’Arc (one of the eight towers that once encircled the city) where Joan of Arc was imprisoned before her execution. Rouen is blessed by a mild Atlantic climate and, being a port city, its restaurants have an excellent reputation for ocean-fresh cuisine.
In the afternoon our excursion continues to the Château du Champ de Bataille, one of the finest estates in France. A beautiful 17th century palace - its roof decorated in gold and its windows in Chinese red lacquer - dominates the estate, but it’s the gardens that really take the breath away. Designed by the man who created the gardens of Versailles, statues, sculptures, water features and the formal Gardens of the Gods create a living picture of magical harmony spread out over 100 hectares in a wonderful setting on the Neubourg Plain.
