Between 1892 and 1894, Monet, captivated by the ever-shifting light on Rouen Cathedral, produced a series of 30 canvases on the theme, these works now on display in museums around the world. This three-day itinerary invites you on a return journey to view a selection of Monet’s Rouen Cathedral series on show in museums in Paris and Rouen, as well as taking you to the source of their inspiration.
You can make this whole trip between Paris and Rouen using low-carbon transport (public transport, boats and walking). Along the way, take the time to admire the ever-changing light on the Seine, as well as on Rouen’s mighty Gothic cathedral. This is a journey to enjoy at Impressionist pace!
Day 1: Paris
15mins via RER train + 1hr on an electric boat
First stop, to explore the largest collection in the world of Impressionist works, at the musée d’Orsay, which displays five of the 30 canvases Monet dedicated to Rouen Cathedral in its Impressionist Gallery, including La Cathédrale de Rouen. Le Portail et la Tour Saint-Romain, plein soleil and La Cathédrale de Rouen. Le Portail et la Tour Saint-Romain, effet du matin. Note that, after your visit, on fine days, the museum’s terrace provides an exceptional setting for a break, with its panoramic views over the Seine and the Jardin des Tuileries.
Next, take the RER C rail line from the Musée d’Orsay Station to the Champ de Mars Station and head to the pier for the Vedettes de Paris, to board an electric boat for a cruise along the Seine. Gliding along, observe the ever-shifting reflections in the river’s waters, so beloved by Impressionist painters. The cityscapes you see should create associations in your mind with the canvases you’ve just viewed at the Musée d’Orsay, for example the silhouette of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, rendered in paint by the likes of Jongkind and Maximilien Luce.
Day 2: from Paris to Rouen
20mins in the Paris Métro + 1hr 30mins on a NOMAD regional train
To complete the Paris part of this trip in style, make your way to the Musée Marmottan Monet, home to the largest collection in the world of works by Monet, the master of Impressionism, displaying over 100 canvases by him. Among them, Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), from which the very term Impressionism derived, and an exceptional series of his Nymphéas (Water Lilies), without forgetting La Cathédrale de Rouen, effet de soleil, fin de journée. After your visit, the café éphémère that pops up, in summer, in the museum garden is perfect for a little treat.
Next, head over to Gare Saint-Lazare via the Métro (take Line 9 to Saint-Augustin Station). This railway station, captured in paint by Monet in a series of 12 canvases dedicated to it, still serves Normandy today. So, take a NOMAD train whisking you in under 90 minutes to the centre of Rouen and offering you a lovely first overall view of Rouen Cathedral, topped by its 151m-high spire.
Ten minutes on foot from the station, Rouen’s medieval quarter, with its cobbled lanes and timber-frame houses, immerses you in architecture that inspired not just Monet, but the likes of Gauguin and Pissarro too. Several iconic monuments stand out along the way, such as the Gros-Horloge (an ornate clock tower) and L’Aître Saint-Maclou (a distinctively decorated burial ground), before you arrive in front of Rouen’s Cathédrale Notre-Dame, a building that fascinated Monet, a Gothic colossus, its façade like lace.
On summer evenings (late-May to late-September), as night falls, a free show, Cathédrale de lumière, presents video-mapping projections across the monument’s façade, creating extraordinary light and colour effects that make for an all-encompassing aesthetic experience.
Day 3: Rouen
1hr of walking
This third day begins with a visit to France’s largest Impressionist collection outside of Paris, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. Cathédrale de Rouen. Le portail et la Tour d’Albane. Temps gris and Vue générale de Rouen count among masterpieces by Monet on display here. The café, in the sculpture garden’s glass-roofed courtyard, provides a chic relaxing atmosphere.
For a fitting finale to your Rouen trip, start out on a pretty walk by heading eastwards along Rue d’Amiens to then climb St Catherine’s Hill, reachable via a hiking trail, by bike, or by bus. The views down on the town, split in two by the Seine, with the cathedral and its soaring spire dominating the north bank, are grand. A panel features a reproduction of the view from here painted by Monet in his day, so you can see how the city has spread out in the last one hundred years and more.
Enjoy this last green interlude before heading to the Gare de Rouen-Rive-Droite, from which you can get a NOMAD train back to Paris Saint-Lazare, reflecting on just how Impressionism was inspired by the way light plays on the Seine’s great cathedrals.
