Planning an eight night trip in early October. Just planning 3 nights in Paris and would like to see either or both of these northern cities over the remaining 5 nights. I won’t have a car so relying mostly on slow trains.
Can you offer personal experience why one might be favored over the other, or ideas of what to also see nearby one of these locations?
Thanks.
Unless Champagne is your be all-end all , only Rouen would make sense to me. There's plenty of world-class museums and restaurants in Rouen to keep you busy enough for 5 day. Plus many day trip options.
Reims---while nice---can be seen in 2-3 days.
The cathedral in Reims is very beautiful, but in other respects Rouen's architecture is much more attractive than what you'll find in Reims. France is full of lovely cities; Reims simply is not one of them.
I concur that Rouen offers more. I would add that a trip to the Abbey of Jumieges is a terrific side trip from Rouen (only about 38 km. away). Maybe a one day car rental would allow you to explore the Route Des Abbayes (several abbeys) and a drive along the Seine. I highly recommend it. There is a small Victor Hugo Museum in Villequier, nearby. If you don't want to rent a car, perhaps there are some tours of the area. It really is a lovely part of the countryside. With four full days in Rouen you would definitely have time for this.
Just to add....You could extend your Paris stay by one night and use that extra day for a day trip to Reims. The ride is less than an hour, is offered several times a day, and is inexpensive. In a day with a fairly early start you could spend a good hour at the cathedral (beautiful, and the place where nearly all French kings were crowned), tour an in-town champagne house and caves, with tasting, and spend an hour or so at the Musee de Reddition, where the Germans signed the WWII surrender. All these things are fairly walkable from each other as well. Return to Paris in time for dinner (Paris time dinner, not US time dinner). Or eat in Reims and catch a late train back to Paris.
That leaves you 4 nights and 3 full days in Rouen. You could still do the Abbey route day trip and have 2 full days in Rouen, which I feel will give you enough time to walk the old city, see the cathedral, explore Joan of Arc sights, eat well, and see some of the museums. The old center is pretty compact, in my opinion, so 2 full days would suffice, unless you are I interested in going to more than 2 or 3 museums.
This change might be worth exploring.
Rouen is more interesting architecturally than Reims although St. Remy and the Cathedral are both fabulous to visit. But the whole old center of Rouen is very different from Paris and beautiful. I found Reims less interesting perhaps becasue much of it was bombed in WWII. The big draw in Reims besides the Cathedral are the Champagne houses. We really enjoyed our tour of Taittinger.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/reims-cathedral-st-remy-and-taittinger/
Don't have snapshots of Rouen -- we actually has a terrible visit -- it was foggy and cold in spite of a good weather forecast and two of three main churches were closed although supposed to be open. But a beautiful town.
Hi,
I've been to both and they're both great trips. If you can do both, I would do three days in one and two days in the other. However, overall i agree with Judy. I think you could do Reims in a full day via train (I did) and there's more to see in Rouen. I suspect if you're a huge Champagne fan (I'm not) you might want to stay longer there and maybe take some tours of the vineyards. If you stay in town, as I did, there are champagne caves/houses/bars that you can visit. I'm not sure if there's four days worth of activities , but depending on your interests, you could do it. As for Rouen, if I'm not mistaken, I think Giverny is only about a 45 minute train ride from Rouen and you should absolutely do a day trip there to see Monet's gardens.
Good luck with whatever you choose .
Reims is a day trip for me, mainly when I'm wandering the WWI battlefields (of which Reims was one.) Reims was flattened in WWI. The area around the cathedral received in excess of 200 major caliber artillery shells. WWII was slightly less damaging, mainly because the battlelines rolled past that area fairly quickly. But if you want champagne, some spirits, and excellent cheeses, Reims can be a pretty good place to visit.
If you go, remember, don't buy anything without tasting it first. Even in the wine shops. If they don't have an open bottle they'll open one, provided you are buying.
Rouen is totally different. It has managed to retain more of the old buildings, it's got a huge legacy of royal patronage, and it's got Joan of Arc. It's also a fairly busy port city, and the industry and foods are noticeably different than those of Reims. I spent two nights in Rouen earlier this year and I'm already making plans to return. I very much enjoyed my time there.
If you go, walk the garden behind the Hotel d'Ville, and don't miss the antique shops around the Cathedral Notre Dame. The Musee Beau Arts is exceptional.
