Normandy, France

Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny

The road to Giverny from Paris is not the prettiest one, however after a few hours, the world turned upside down and we ended up in the cradle of impressionism. When I was reading about the impressionists I was hardly able to get the gist of the word “impressio” and why Claude Monet drew his garden over and over again with such persistence. But once we arrived at Giverny all these pieces of the puzzle started to assemble and the words filled up with the meaning.

After the garden you could make a quick stop at Panorama du Thuit

Rouen

Rouen is the place of imprisonment and execution of Joan of Arc, the city with the ancient cathedral of the XII century and amazingly old buildings. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen was also painted by Claude Monet, dissolving in the air.

The iconic landmark of Rouen is considered to be the city clock, placed above the arch, which is thrown across the rue du Gros-Horloge. We know that it is pretty old.

Le Havre

The last stop of our journey’s first part is probably the most atypical French city — Le Havre. Being one of the biggest French seaports, it completely lost its historical heritage during WWII. It was completely rebuilt by Auguste Perret in a style of modern. On the one hand, there are no cosy small French-style houses, but on the other hand, there is unbounded artistic freedom for architectural experiments.

Accomodation

We had a perfect apartment with a sea view and parking. Nos recommandations!