France Itinerary Oct 25,2001 – Nov 4,2001

Thursday Oct 25 United Airlines

RDU – Dulles Fl #7328 dep 4:30pm

Dulles – Charles de Gaulle Fl #914 dep 6:25pm
Arrive in Paris at 7:40am local time

Friday Oct 26 – Monday Oct 29 Paris

Hotel du Champs de Mars 011-33-1-45-51-52-30

7 rue Champ de Mars

2 doubles with shower, 440FF/room/night

www.hotel-du-champ-de-mars.com

Tuesday Oct 30 Honfleur

Le Cheval Blanc 011-33-2-31-81-65-00

2 quai de Passagers

2 doubles with shower incl breakfast buffet

1@650FF, 1@750FF /room/night

www.hotel-honfleur.com (select Cheval Blanc from pulldown menu)

Wednesday Oct 31 Bayeux

Le Lion d’Or, 71 rue St-Jean 011-33-2-31-92-06-90

2 doubles with bath incl breakfast, conf # 3712

780FF/room/night

Thursday Nov 1 Mont St. Michel

Le Mouton Blanc 011-33-2-33-60-14-08

2 doubles with shower

390FF/room/night

Friday Nov 2 near Amboise

Château de Pray 011-33-2-47-57-23-67

praycastel.online.fr

Saturday Nov 3 Chambord

Hotel du Grand St. Michel 011-33-2-54-20-31-31

2 doubles with shower

1@340FF,1@360FF/room/night

Sunday Nov 4 United Airlines

Charles de Gaulle – Dulles Fl #911 dep 5:00pm

Dulles – RDU Fl #7175 dep 9:40pm

Arrive in Raleigh at 10:50pm local time.

Important Contact Information :

Geoff’s parents : Ottawa : 613-224-2908 Phoenix : 602-789-7151

Amanda’s parents : Collingwood : 705-446-1991 Myrtle Beach : 843-448-7518

Car Rental Information:

Avis 800-331-1084 reservation number: 28610741US5

$299 plus 19.6% VAT, plus $7.28 license fee. Additional driver allowed for $19.00.

Group E car (similar to an Opal Omega). Holds 5 people & 5 pieces of luggage. Unlimited kms.

Pick up the car at 7:30am on Tuesday, Oct 30^th at 5 Rue Bixio, 7e. Near Les Invalides.

Drop car off at 3:00pm at CDG airport on Sunday Nov 4^th.

Friday Oct 26th

- Arrive in Paris and check into Hotel du Champs de Mars

- Purchase 5 day museum pass

- Spend the afternoon doing the Historic Core of Paris walk including:

o Grab picnic fixings on Rue Cler and head over to Notre Dame

o Picnic at Notre Dame Park, behind Cathedral

o Visit Deportation Memorial

o Visit Latin Quarter – St.Severin

o Visit Ste. Chapelle 35F hours : 10-4:30pm

o Visit Conciergerie 35F hours : 10-5pm

o Pont Neuf and the Square du Vert Galant (Henry IV statue)

o Samaritaine terrace roof top view of city

- Dinner in Rue Cler neighbourhood

- Evening stroll along Champs de Mars to Trocadero

- Eiffel Tower ~50F (not incl in museum pass) hours: 9am-11pm (3^rd level closes at 8pm)

Saturday Oct 27th

- Grab picnic fixings on Rue Cler, stores open at 8:30.

- Visit Musee d’Orsay 40F opens at 10am, English tour at 11am

- Have a snack in the café near the Impressionist Galleries on the top floor

- Left out of the museum onto Bellechasse, Left on St. Germain

- Visit St. Germain-de-Pres, Paris’ oldest Church, approx ½ mi on left

- Walk up Rue Bonaparte to see St. Sulpice (17^th century, Delacroix frescoes in first chapel on the right)

- Continue to the Jardin de Luxembourg and eat picnic! Try to catch a marionette show (3pm) at the Theatre de Marionnettes.

- Options for remainder of day:

o Shopping/browsing/people watching along St. Germain

o Rodin Museum 28F (closes at 5:45)

o Hotel des Invalides 37F (closes at 4:45)

o Musee Cluny (entrance on rue Sommerard) 38F hours: 9:15-5:45pm

Sunday Oct 28th

- Visit Notre-Dame Cathedral for Mass (8 or 8:45)

- Visit Cathedral Towers 35 F (9:30+) and Crypt 35 F (10am+)

- Take yellow line RER-C (Station at St-Michel-Notre Dame) to Versailles-Rive-Gauche station (closest to Palace) (about 40 minutes)

- Some admission incl on museum pass, tours extra

- Grand and Petit Trianon (30F) (closed noon-2pm)

Monday Oct 29th

- Take the metro to Place de la Concorde

- Stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries towards the Louvre

- Visit the Louvre 45F opens at 9am 90 minute English tour several times daily

- Spend the afternoon doing the Bastille/Marais/Beaubourg walk including:

o Bastille

o Marais

o Hotel de Sully

o Place des Vosges (park built by Henry IV in 1605)

o Picasso Museum 30F, hours: 9:30-5:30

o Jewish Quarter

o Pompidou Museum 40F hours: noon-10pm

Tuesday Oct 30th

- Pick up picnic fixings before leaving Rue Cler

- Get rental car

- Drive to Giverny (70 km nw of Paris, approx 1.5hrs) 35F, hours: 10-noon, 2-6pm
www.fondation-monet.com

- Drive to Rouen (approx 1hr) and do the walking tour including:

o Eglise Jeanne d’Arc 2pm-6pm

o Rue du Gros Horloge

o Palace of Justice

o Cathedrale Notre Dame

o St. MacLou Church 2:30-6pm
www.rouen.port.fr/uk/html/visite/tourism/index.html

- Leave Rouen around 4pm on D-982, Route des Anciennes Abbayes

o Abbaye de Jumieges (24 km west of Rouen) 32F 2:30-5:30

o Abbaye de St-Wandrille (14 km north of Abbaye de Jumieges) 25F

- Continue towards Le Havre (about 60 km, approx 1 hr)

- Cross to Honfleur on Pont de Normandie bridge (exhibit under toll booth) 32 F

- Check into Hotel Le Cheval Blanc and spend evening in Honfleur
www.ville-honfleur.fr

Wednesday Oct 31st

- Breakfast buffet at hotel

- Eglise Ste. Catherine opens at 9am

- Drive to Caen (58km, approx 1 hr)

- See the Memorial for Peace 74F, hours: 9am-7pm (allow at least 2.5 hrs)

- Leaving Caen, visit the Canadian Cemetery and Juno Beach

- Proceed to Arromanches (31 km nw of Caen) 35F 1:30-5pm

- Continue to Bayeux (less than ½ hr) and check into Hotel Lion d’Or

- Dinner in Bayeux
www.normandy-tourism.org/gb/town/bayeux/fr/bienvenue/bienhdr-fr.html

Thursday Nov 1^st

- Breakfast at hotel

- Bayeux Tapestry 40F opens at 9am (5F extra for headset). 13 bis rue de Nesmond.

- Bayeux Cathedral (see Choir and Crypt), opens at 10am. Rue de Bienvenue.

- Visit remaining D-Day beaches including:

o Omaha Beach is 16 km northwest of Bayeux (St. Laurent)

o American Cemetery at St.Laurent sur Mer

o Pointe du Hoc (13km west of St. Laurent)

o Utah Beach is further along the coast, towards Carentan on the peninsula

- Continue towards Coutances, Granville or via St.Lo and on to Mont St. Michel (approx 1.5 hrs)

- Check into Hotel Le Mouton Blanc

- Notes for Mont St. Michel:

o Find out when high tide occurs

o Watch sunset from the Abbaye

o Make a dinner reservation and try the famous omelets

Friday Nov 2^nd

- Visit the Abbey of Mont St. Michel 40F opens at 9:30am (audioguide 35F for 2)

- Drive to Fougeres (47km)

- Visit the medieval Chateau de Fougeres 23F

- Continue to Amboise (via Laval, Tours) approx 200km

- Check into hotel Chateau de Pray (east of Amboise) (reservation in progress)

- Perhaps return to Amboise for dinner
www.amboise.valdeloire.com/anglais/aindex.html

Saturday Nov 3^rd

- Visit the Chateau de Chenonceau (12km south of Amboise) 50F opens at 9am
www.lvo.com

- Perhaps a helicopter ride from Amboise

- Visit the Chateau de Cheverny (13km se of Blois) 35F 2:15pm-5pm
www.château-cheverny.com

- Continue to Chambord (17km)

- Check into hotel Grand St. Michel (need to be there by 6pm)

- Perhaps drive to Blois for dinner (19km). Several good restaurants to choose from.

Sunday Nov 4^th

- Visit the Chateau de Chambord 40F 9:30
www.lvo.com

- Drive back to Paris (approx 200km to airport). Flight leaves at 5pm.

Book References

1. Rick Steves’ France Belgium & The Netherlands (1997)
2. Fodor’s Exploring France 4^th Edition (1999)
3. Fodor’s UpClose France (1998)
4. Fodor’s 2000 France (2000)
5. Frommer’s Walking Tours – Paris 2^nd Edition (1995)
6. Fodor’s 1999 Paris (1999)
7. Insight Guide France (1999)
8. Eyewitness Travel Guides France 1999

Friday, Oct 26^th

This is additional information to go along with the “historic core of Paris” walk outlined in reference (1).

Cathedral Notre Dame

- Commissioned by Bishop de Sully in 1159, started in 1163

- (7) Built over 200 years during the 12^th and 13^th centuries, (4) finished in 1345

- (5) Badly damaged and stripped of valuables during the revolution

- Refurbished (incl stained glass) during the 1840s, (3) however the Rose windows are intact originals

- (7) (8) 387 steps to reach Bourdon, 16 ton brass bell in South (right) tower

- (7) Most of the gargoyles were added during the 19^th century by Viollet-le-Duc.

- (7) Front rose window has a diameter of 31 ft and surmounts the Galerie des Rois, 28 restored statues of the kings of Israel, decapitated during the revolution and recently found (1997) and now displayed at the Cluny museum

- (8) The square in front of Notre Dame is the spot from which all distances to and from Paris are measured

- (7) 1804 saw crowning of Napoleon

- (7) 1944 saw de Gaulle give thanks for the liberation of Paris

- (7) Tresor de Notre-Dame (open daily, closed Sun a.m., fee) contains richly ornamented robes and chalices, (8) ancient manuscripts and reliquaries

- (7) Crypte Archeologique (open daily, fee) underneath the parvis, excavations of buildings dating back to the 3^rd century

- (7) Towers – climb all the way up during daylight hours (fee), (3) entrance is to the left as you face Notre-Dame.

- (4) North tower is wider than the south tower.

- (8) Jean Ravy’s flying buttresses have a span 15m.

- (8) The spire designed by Viollet-le-Duc is 90m, reconstructed during the 19^th century

Deportation Memorial

- (7) Designed by Pingusson in 1962, (6) in what was once the city morgue

- (5) Constructed around 200,000 quartz pebbles that represent each person that died during WWII.

- (5) Several small tombs hold soil from each of the concentration camps

- (3) Walls are lined with moving quotations by famous French writers, poets, philosophers.

St. Severin

- (8) Named after a 6^th century hermit.

- (8) Double aisle encircling the chancel.

- (8) Medieval gable-roofed charnel house is in the garden.

- (3) Ivy-covered church dates from the 11^th century, 18^th and 19^th century renovations.

- (3) Stained glass (1966-70) represent the seven sacraments.

Sainte Chapelle (open daily, closed public holidays, entrance fee)

- (3) Sublime Gothic chapel with wall-to-wall stained glass. Go on a sunny day, or at sunset.

- (7) Constructed in 1246 by Saint Louis (IX) to hold the Crown of Thorns and fragments of the True Cross.

- (7) Lower chapel frequented by palace servants.

- (7) Upper chapel has 15 stained glass windows and was used by the royals.

- (8) Stained glass windows portray more than 1000 biblical scenes.

- (5) About ½ the stained glass dates from the 13^th century; the rest from a careful 19^th century restoration.

- (8) Spire rises 75 m.

Palais de Justice (open Mon-Fri)

- (7) Occupied by the first 12 Capetian kings as the Palais de la Cite.

- (7) The Tour de l’Horloge dates from the 15^th century. Bells rang here to start St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

- (6) It is the site of the oldest clock in Paris (1370).

- (5) First tower on right, Tour de Bonbec, called the ‘babbler’ because the torture inflicted was so intense.

- (5) Cour du Mai: courtyard where Marie-Antoinette and others waited to be taken to their execution.

- (4) Law courts built in 1860 by Baron Haussmann in Neoclassical style.

Conciergerie (open daily, closed public holidays, entrance fee, 1 quai de l’Horloge)

- (6) Turreted medieval building was originally part of the royal palace (until 1358).

- (7) Prison of the French Revolution (prison from 1391-1914).

- (2) Over 4000 prisoners were imprisoned there during the Revolution.

- (7) Queen Marie-Antoinette was held here.

- (8) Henri IV’s assassin was imprisoned and tortured in 1610.

- (8) Superb 4 aisled Gothic hall; where royal household guards lived.

Cite Metro Station

- (5) Art nouveau entrance (Bat Cave!) dates from 1900.

- (5) Designed by Hector Guimard.

Pont Neuf

- (7) Oldest bridge standing in Paris, Henri III laid first stone in 1578, inaugurated by Henri IV in 1607.

- (7) First bridge to be built entirely of stone that wasn’t lined with houses.

- (5) Actually 2 bridges that don’t quite line up.

- (7) From the lower quai, notice the 900 faces carved along the sides

- (6) Pont Neuf crosses tip of Ile de la Cite at ‘square du Vert-Galant’ which contains a statue of Henri IV (which was made from bronze melted down from a statue of Napoleon!).

La Samaritaine

- (5) Biggest department store in Paris.

- (5) Art nouveau ironwork staircase. Spectacular view of city from 9^th floor.

- (5) Named after the Pont Neuf water pump (which was named in honour of the Samaritan woman that offered Jesus a drink).

Dinner in the Rue Cler neighbourhood. Recommendations include:

- (1) Restaurant La Serre 29 rue de l’Exposition « wonderful ambiance and food worth the splurge » 70F-100F

- (1) La Maison de Cosima 20 rue de l’Exposition « creative French cuisine » 170F

- (1) (3) (6) Chez l’Ami Jean 27 rue Malar « Basque restaurant » closed Sunday <100F

- (3) (4) (6) Au Bon Acceuil 14 rue de Monttessuy « bustling little bistro  - a deal for such great food » < 150F

Champs de Mars

- (7) Rectangular park at the foot of Eiffel has been used for celebrations and military exercises.

- (7) The park runs from the Seine to the Ecole Militaire, an 18^th century edifice designed by Jacques-Ange Gabriel.

Trocadero Plaza

- (3) Across the Pont d’Iena bridge from the Eiffel Tower. Gardens, spectacular fountains, Palais de Chaillot.

- (3) View of the Eiffel Tower is unsurpassed.

- (7) The site was a wooded hill when Catherine de Medici built a palace there, Napoleon planned to build an imperial city.

- (7) Palais de Chaillot holds theatres, museums and an aquarium.

-

Tour Eiffel

- (3) Designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Exposition in Paris.

- (3) World’s tallest building (300 m) until the NYC Chrysler building took the title in 1930.

- (7) Best city gazing is about an hour before sunset.

- (4) In the strongest winds the tower never sways more than 4.5 inches.

Saturday, Oct 27^th

Musee d’Orsay

- English tour at 11am

- Ground floor: works from mid to late 19^th century (Manet, Degas)

- Middle level: Art Nouveau decorative art and late 19^th to mid 20^th century paintings and sculptures

- Upper level: Impressionist and New-Impressionist art. Café is near the Impressionist Galleries

- (8) Opened as a museum in 1986 (47 yrs after it closed as a railroad station)

- (7) Gae Aulenti redesigned the interior space into several exhibition levels

- (8) Contains works from 1848 to 1914, mostly paintings and sculptures

- (8) Rodin’s Gates of Hell, Monet’s Rouen Cathedral series, Renoir, Toulouse Lautrec, …

- (6) 1900-1939 mainline rail travel, 1939-1960’s suburban terminus,

- (6) 1960s-1970s theatre, auction house, setting for plays

- (3) Monet’s pre-1870 work is on the ground floor

-

St. Germain-de-Pres, Paris’ oldest Church

- (8) Originated in 542 as a basilica to house holy relics (a relic of the true cross, brought back from Spain)

- (8) Largely destroyed by fire in 1794, it has had major restorations, one of the 3 original towers survives

- (8) Contains tomb of Rene Descartes (his skull, or is it his (3) heart)

- (6) Frescoes by Hippolyte Flandrin in the nave

St. Sulpice

- (8) Place St. Sulpice is ringed with Chestnut trees, was begun in 1754

- (8) The huge and imposing Classical church was started in 1646; designed by 6 architects it took over a century to build. (6) Dubbed the Cathedral of the left bank.

- (8) 17^th century, Delacroix frescoes in first chapel on the right (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, Heliodorus Driven from the Temple).

- (2) 6588-pipe organ

- (3) The double-story loggia with freestanding columns was the first example of French neoclassicism on a monumental scale.

- (1) Organist opens the loft to visitors after the 10:30 service on Sundays.

Jardin de Luxembourg and Palais du Luxembourg

- (8) Palais was first built as a royal residence, it is now the home of the French Senate.

- (8) The Palais was built to remind Marie de’ Medici of her native Florence, it was finished in 1627.

- (8) The Palais was used as a prison, and served as headquarters for the German Luftwaffe during WWII.

- (6) Fountains, ponds, trim hedges, trees and gravel walks that are typical of a formal French garden.

- (3) Try to catch a marionette show (3pm and 4pm) at the Theatre de Marionnettes in the Jardin.

Options for remainder of day

- Shopping/browsing/people watching along St. Germain

- Rodin Museum 28F (closes at 5:45)

- Hotel des Invalides 37F (closes at 4:45)

- Cluny Museum (entrance on rue Sommerard) 30F hours: 9:15-5:45pm

Cluny Museum (Musee National de Moyen-Age) (open Tue-Sun, closed public holidays, fee)

- 6 place Paul-Painleve.

- (7) One of the few medieval mansions remaining in Paris.

- (4) The mansion has an intricately vaulted chapel and a cloistered courtyard with mullioned windows.

- (8) Present building was built from 1485-98.

- (7) Houses the ruins of the Roman Lutetia.

- (7) Roman Baths (both hot and cold !) Cold bath contains Paris’ oldest sculpture (Boatman’s Pillar).

- (7) Exquisite tapestries (La Dame a la Licorne), (2) 15th century.

- (2) Gallery of Kings (sculpted heads) lopped off Notre-Dame in 1793, found in 1977 in a bank vault.

- (8) Named after the Abbot of Cluny in Burgundy.

- (5) Owned by Sommerard, a medieval art collector, sold to the state after his death in 1842, open as a museum by his son in 1844.

- (8) Golden Rose of Basel from 1330 is one of the museum’s most precious items (jewelry and metalwork).

Sunday, Oct 28^th

Cathedral Notre Dame (see notes from Friday)

- Attend mass at 8am or 8:45am and tour towers and crypte archeologique

Take yellow line RER-C (station St-Michel-Notre-Dame) to Versailles Rive-Gauche train station (40 minutes). Do NOT take the Versailles C.H. trains; they stop at a different station.

Lunch Choices:

- (1) Take a picnic with us from Paris

- (3) Sandwich shop “Classe Croute” in Les Manages shopping mall just across from Versailles Rive-Gauche

- (1) Restaurant on the canal in the Gardens of the Palace of Versailles

Palace of Versailles

- (3) Louis XIII originally built the palace as a rustic hunting lodge in 1631

- (3) Louis XIV converted it to the headquarters of his government. Improvements took 50 years.

- (3) In 1789 a revolutionary mob marched the 24km from Paris to protest the bread shortage

- (1) Many different lines for all the tour options. Guided tours typically booked by 1pm.

- (1) If you are waiting for a tour or have a Paris Museum pass; you can go directly into the main palace with no line at the A2 gate. Picnics are not allowed into the palace; check bags at gate A or C.

- (1) It is a 30 minute hike through the gardens, down the canal, past the two mini-palaces to the hamlet.

- (7) The park was designed by Andre Le Notre; the beauty of the palace is best appreciated from the bottom of the park.

- (7) It is nearly 3 miles around the canal.

Monday, Oct 29^th

Place de la Concorde

- (4) This magnificent square was laid out in the 1770s.

- (7) The central obelisk, which graced the tomb of Ramses II at Luxor 3,000 years ago, was erected on this spot in 1836. (4) It was a gift from the viceroy of Egypt in 1833.

- (7) 17 January 1793, King Louis XVI was guillotined here

Jardin des Tuileries

- (3) Onetime royal garden with great views of Louvre, d’Orsay, Eiffel Tower, place de la Concorde, Seine

- (7) Designed by landscape artist Andre Le Notre

Louvre

- (2) World’s largest museum, developed from 12^th century fortress origins

- (2) 30,000 works are exhibited, while many more remain in storage

- (3) Get the cool cellular phone style recorded tour (30F)

- (7) Louvre Pyramid was designed by the American I.M.Pei

- (7) Was a royal residence until 1793, when it was turned into a museum

- (7) Mona Lisa (La Joconde), Winged Victory, Venus de Milo

Bastille/Marais/Beaubourg walk: the Bastille, Marais, Hotel de Sully, Place des Vosges, Picasso’s museum, Jewish Quarter, Pompidou Center

Bastille

- (7) Site of the dreaded prison constructed in the 14^th century.

- (7) Walls were 11m thick in some places, protected by high battlements and heavy artillery.

- (7) Despite this, the Bastille fell before the onslaught of the furious population on 14 July 1789.

- (7) In 1840 the towering Colonne de Juillet was erected to commemorate the victims of the revolution (commemorating the overthrow of Charles X in July 1830).

- (7) Dominating the place is the new Opera de Paris Bastille which opened in 1989.

- (1) Victims of the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 are buried in a vault 55m below the Colonne de Juillet.

Marais

- (7) Literally « swamp « , the Marais was the place for nobles to live in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

- (4) One of the cities most historic and sought-after residential districts.

- (4) Most of the district’s mansions have been restored and many are now museums.

Hotel de Sully

- (4) Late renaissance museum, started in 1624, has a stately courtyard and a majestic garden.

- (4) Home of the National Treasury of Historic monuments

Place des Vosges

- (7) Park built by Henry IV in 1605, originally called the Place Royale.

- (4) Oldest square in Paris. The 2 large buildings on either side were originally the King’s and Queen’s pavilions.

- (7) Named after the first region to pay taxes to the new Republic.

- (7) Maison Victor Hugo at number 6.

- (4) Large, pink-brick square lined with covered arcades.

- (4) The statue in the center is of Louis XIII.

Picasso Museum

- (7) Occupies the restored (palatial 17^th century) Hotel Sale, built by a wealthy tax collector (taxes on Salt!)

- (7) Collection donated by Picasso’s family in lieu of death taxes

- (4) There are works from every period of Picasso’s life, as well as pieces by Cezanne, Miro, Renoir, Degas, Matisse

- (1) Largest collection in the world of Picasso’s work.

- (6) The museum opened in 1985. These are the works that Picasso kept for himself.

Pompidou Museum 40F noon-10pm

- (2) Opened in 1977, (3) after 6 years of demolition and construction

- (3) Exposed exterior pipes, blue (air), green (water), yellow (electricity), red (communication)

- (4) Square Igor-Travinsky with unusual fountains

Tuesday, Oct 30^th

Giverny

- Take A13 out of Paris (from the Porte d’Auteuil) towards Vernon. Giverny is 4km from Vernon.

- (3) Monet lived in this green-shuttered, pink house from 1883 until his death in 1926 (at age 86).

- (1) Gardens and home are split by a busy road, take the underpass after walking through the gardens to visit the lily-pad land and the Japanese bridge.

- (3) Monet spent several years perfecting the gardens before he painted the same scene in different seasons.

- (1) The gift shop at the exit is the actual sky-lit studio Monet used to paint his water-lily masterpieces.

- (4) Several years after buying the house, Monet received permission to divert the Epte to make a pond.

- (8) The house has been refurbished and is decorated in the original colour schemes that Monet admired.

Rouen

- (2) There is a parking lot at the place du Vieux Marche, which is the starting point for the walking tour.

- (1) A mix of gothic architecture, half-timbered houses and contemporary bustle.

- (1) It was an English base during the 100 years war. William the Conquerer lived here, Joan of Arc was burned here.

- (2) A busy industrial port spanning the Seine. Carefully reconstructed after being bombed during the war.

- (3) Parts of the medieval town survived even though the Germans set fire to the whole thing.

- (4) Called the City of a Hundred Spires.

- (7) Rouen is the largest city in Normandy, with its own metro and France’s fourth largest port.

- (8) Rouen was founded at the lowest point that the Seine could be bridged.

Eglise Jeanne d’Arc / place du Vieux Marche

- (1) Jeanne d’Arc was mercilessly burned as a witch on this square on May 30, 1431

- (1) The church is a modern tribute to Jeanne, it was completed in 1979.

- (2) The stained glass dates from the 16^th century, (4) taken from Eglise St.Vincent which was destroyed during 1944.

- (3) A concrete and metail cross marks the spot where Jeanne was burned at the stake.

- (3) The roof of the Eglise Jeanne d’Arc was designed to evoke the flames of a funeral pyre.

Rue du Gros Horloge

- (1) Rouen’s main pedestrian and shopping street since roman times. 1528 Renaissance public clock.

- (2) One handed gilt clock. (3) 99% of the postcards sold in Rouen feature this 14^th century gilded clock.

- (4) In 1527, the Ruennais had a splendid arch built especially for the clock.

Palais de Justice

- (1) Flamboyant Gothic Palace of Justice, largely restored after WWII bombing.

- (1) Western façade still contains pock marks from artillery. (2) Rouen’s most splendid Renaissance palace.

Cathedrale Notre Dame

- (1) Considered one of France’s most beautiful cathedrals.

- (1) Monet painted this at various times of day from the apartment he rented.

- (1) Be sure to see the photos, inside the cathedral, of the extensive WWII damage.

- (2) Wealth of intricate carving on the outside.

- (3) Built and rebuilt between the 12^th and 16^th centuries.

- (3) The Romanesque Tour St-Romain dates from 1145. The Flamboyant Gothic Tour du Beurre from the 15^th century, it was built when a group of wealthy citizens donated funds for the privilege of eating butter during Lent.

- (3) The cast iron steeple was added in the 19^th century and is the tallest in France.

- (3) The cathedral caught fire twice during WWII, Hitler ordered his troops to save it the first time and the Rouennais saved it from Allied bombs the second time.

- (8) Tomb of Richard the Lionheart (his heart is buried here) and the unusual 11^th century semi-circular hall crypt.

- (8) Some of the Cathedral’s riches can be seen by guided tour only.

St. Maclou Church

- (1) On the way to the church, look for a plaque on the right, identifying the site of an old chapel where Jeanne d’Arc was sentenced to death, and where she was proclaimed innocent 25 years later.

- (2) A masterpiece of late Gothic (15^th – 16^th century) art on a cobbled square of ½ timbered houses.

- (3) Beautiful wooden carved doors from 1552 and a magnificent altar. Check out the fountain outside…

- (7) Contains some of the finest wood carving in France.

Aitre (Ossuary) St. Maclou

- (1) Half-timbered courtyard/graveyard/cloister. A cemetery for 14^th century plague victims.

- (1) It is now an art school.

- (2) A 16^th century court, originally a cloister used as a charnel house. Timbers are decorated with skulls.

- (4) One of the last reminders of the plague that devastated Europe during the Middle Ages.

Route des Anciennes Abbayes
This route follows the main road (D982) along the right bank, passing abbeys founded as early as the 7th century.

- (1) The route of the ancient abbeys is punctuated with abbeys, apple trees, Seine river views and pastoral scenes.

- (1) Jumieges offers France’s most romantic abbey ruins.

- (2) Quietly set away from the main road, Jumieges is the greatest of the Seine Valley abbeys.

- (2) Jumieges was sacked in the 17^th century and has been used as a quarry. The roofless ruins of the 11^th century church (the porch and towers survived) are wonderfully romantic.

- (2) St.-Wandrille abbey has been used as a mill and a private home, but it is now once again inhabited by monks.

- (2) St.-Wandrille abbey is known for the singing (Gregorian chants) monks and their jam.

- (3) St-Martin de Boscherville is one of the first towns reached along the route. Existing buildings date from the 12^th century. Serene Romanesque church survives with its two towers and pyramidal lantern intact.

- (3) Jumieges was one of the most influential centers of religion and learning in the Middle Ages.

- (3) St-Wandrille has remaining 13^th and 14^th century church ruins; more interesting are the 13^th and 15^th c. cloisters.

- (4) Jumieges was a once-mighty Benedictine Abbey, founded in 654 by St-Philbert, plundered by Vikings in 841, rebuilt around 940. The French Revolution forced the evacuation of the remaining 16 monks.

- (4) St-Wandrille; be sure to visit the Abbey shop down the hill; everything it sells is handmade by the monks.

- (8) The consecration of the Jumieges Abbey was a major event in 1067 with William the Conqueror in attendance.

- (8) The D913 Hwy passes through oak and beech woods in the Parc Regional de Brotonne to the 7^th century Abbeye de St-Wandrille.

Pont de Normandie

- (1) The 2.1 km long bridge is the longest suspension bridge in Europe.

- (4) The direct link to Le Havre opened in 1995.

- (1) Free exhibition hall under the toll booth on the Le Havre side, open from 8:00-19:00hr.

- (4) This is the world’s largest cable-stayed bridge, supported by two concrete pylons taller than the Eiffel Tower, and is designed to resist winds of 160mph.

- (1) Great view of the bridge from the Cote de Grace viewpoint, best at sunset or when floodlit at night

Honfleur
Honfleur is on the Cote Fleurie (flowery coast).

- (1) Skinny half-timbered houses crowd around the harbour.

- (1) Sloops set out to discover the New World during the 16^th and 17^th century.

- (2) A picturesque fishing port and artists’ colony, with tall slate-hung houses overlooking the old harbour.

- (3) The most interesting of the Cote Fleurie’s little seaside towns. Unscathed by WWII, architecture remains intact, especially around the 17^th century Vieux Bassin harbour.

- (4) Departure point for the first maritime explorations to Canada (Samuel de Champlain).

- (8) Major defensive port in the 15^th century. The Vieux Bassin is bordered by houses 6 or 7 stories tall.

- (8) Honfleur became a center of artistic activity in the 19^th century. Painters met at the Ferme St-Simeon.

- (8) Painters still work from the quay-side and exhibit in the Greniers a Sel. These 2 warehouses lie to the east of the Vieux Bassin, in an area known as l’Enclos.

- (1) For a great view; walk up to the Cote de Grace viewpoint

L’Assiette Gourmande is one of Honfleur’s top restaurants. 2 quai de Passagers (same building as Hotel)

Wednesday, Oct 31st

Honfleur

- Visit Eglise Ste-Catherine, it opens at 9am.

- (1) This church was built by naval architects

- (1) The bell tower was built across the square to lighten the load on the wooden church and to minimize fire hazard.

- (2) It is an unusual 15^th century wooden church built by shipbuilders.

D-Day Beaches
Along the 120 kms of Atlantic Coast just north of Caen and Bayeux are museums, monuments, cemeteries and battle remains. This is on the Cote de Nacre (Mother of Peral Coast). While well known for the D-Day landings, it is also a popular summer vacation destination offering long, sandy beaches. The D514 runs the length of the Calvados section of the invasion coast. War debris still litters the dunes and beaches along this stretch; tread carefully.

- (2) Route D514 runs the length of the Calvados section of the invasion coast, passing numerous memorials, small museums and eloquent graveyards.

- Visit the Memorial for Peace just outside Caen. The best WWII museum in France. This is a museum dedicated to peace, placing the events of D-Day into the context of World War II and other conflicts of the 20^th century. It includes stunning compilations of archival and fictional film footage to explain the war’s origins, document its horrors and consider the failed peace that followed.

- (4) Visit the Pegasus Bridge (Route D514 North of Caen at Benouville). The bridge was moved to a nearby field when it was replaced in 1993; but the bridge-side café (first liberated building on French soil) is a small museum.

- (3) Operation Overlord was the code name for the planned invasion of France by the allies.

- (4) 5 miles north of the Pegasus Bridge are some of the D-Day landing beaches. Sword beach extends from Luc-sur-Mer to St. Aubin; Juno Beach incl Bernieres and Courseulles; Gold Beach to Arromanches. Canadian beach is JUNO.

- Visit the Canadian Cemetery and Juno Beach.

- Visit Arromanches, the largest city along the D-Day strip and the site of the prefabricated harbour that was used during the D-Day landings. Churchill’s brainchild, it was called Port Winston. In the bay and on the beach, elements of the floating harbour are still visible.

- (3) To see some of the last remnants of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall – essentially 3,000 miles of batteries, shelters and bunkers designed to ward off a coastal invasion – stop by Longues-sur-Mer, just west of Arromanches.

- (3) Within 8 days the Allies had advanced as far as Bayeux.

- (4) 2.5 million soldiers and 4 million tons of equipment landed at Arromanches in the next 3 months.

Bayeux

- Check into Hotel Lion d’Or. Note that Rue St-Jean is a pedestrian street lined with shops and cafes.

- Handmade lace is a specialty of this area.

- (1) Visit the TI and pick up area map and D-Day brochure, “D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy” (6pm)

- (1) Only 10 kms from the D-Day beaches

- (1) Be sure to take a walk around the centre-ville; the Cathedral is beautifully illuminated after dark.

- (8) It was the first town to be liberated by the Allies in 1944 and escaped war damage.

- (2) The tourist office is in the old fish market at Pont St-Jean.

Thursday, Nov 1st

Bayeux

Bayeux Tapesty
The Tapestry depicts the rise of William, Duke of Normandy to William the Conqueror, King of England. It is traditionally known as La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde

- (1) It is actually woolen embroidery on linen cloth. (4) It stretches 230ft and is only 1½ feet high.

- (2) The work was produced in 10 years (1070-1080) by English nuns. The story is told in 58 scenes.

- (2) It was commissioned by the Bishop Odo of Bayeux

- (4) It is showcased in the 18^th century building, the Musee de la Tapisserie.

- (8) Wide moustaches distinguish the English characters from the clean shaven French.

Bayeux Cathedral

- (8) The original Romanesque church that stood here was consecrated in 1077.

- (2) The cathedral is mostly 13^th Gothic, but has 11^th century Romanesque towers and huge round lower arches in the nave, which are decorated in the same zigzag pattern that characterizes this “Norman” art in England.

- (2) The carvings over the south doorway tell the story of the murder of St. Thomas a Becket (Archibishop of Canterbury) by Henry II of England’s soldiers in 1170.

- (3) Don’t miss the angels that decorate the pillars of the underground Romanesque crypt.

- (1) The Baron Gerard Museum and Hotel du Doyen (located just outside the cathedral, and free with Tapestry ticket) contain collections of lace and porcelain, and show lace workers designing and making intricate lace.

D-Day beaches

- (3) Omaha beach was defended by the only solid German division on the coast. 27 of the Allied tanks were launched too far out to sea and immediately went under. 2,000 American soldiers were dead or wounded within 2 hours.

- (3) 172-acre American Cemetery is at St.Laurent-sur-Mer.

- (4) Pointe-du-Hoc was the site of one of the most heroic and dramatic episodes on June 6^th. Jagged cliffs were scaled with rope ladders. Ruined blockhouses and a German machine-gun post merit exploration.

- (8) Utah Beach is further along the coast. Ste-Mere-Eglise (paratroopers) is on the Cotentin peninsula.

Coutances

- (4) The largely 13^th century Cathedrale Notre-Dame, with its famous octagonal lantern , is considered the most harmonious Gothic building in Normandy. On the outside, especially the façade, note the obsessive use of turrets, spires, slender shafts and ultranarrow pointed arches squeezed senseless in their architectural pursuit of vertical takeoff.

- (8) From Roman times until the revolution, the hilltop town of Coutances was the capital of the Cotentin.

- (8) The slender Cathedrale Notre-Dame (Norman Gothic) has squat lantern tower and Gothic stained glass windows.

Granville

- (7) This is the most westerly large coastal town in Normandy, it is also almost Breton in its atmosphere.

- (7) The old houses in Granville’s upper town are solidly made of heavy stone and roofed with dark grey slates, which will keep out the most torrential and driving rain. When an entire wall is slated, the wall that faces the prevailing wind, it means the rain comes blasting in from the sea horizontally.

- (8) Ramparts enclose the upper town of Granville, which sits on a rocky spur overlooking the Baie de Mont-St-Michel.

- (4) From the ramparts there are fine views of the English Channel. Drive a few miles down the coast to find sandy beaches and a distant view of Mont-St-Michel.

Mont-St-Michel
Legend has it that the Chapel was designed according to instructions passed to the Bishop of Avranches by the Archangel Michael in a vision.

- (2) 262-foot granite island rises in glorious isolation from the muddy estuary of the Couesnon River.

- (2) The tide races against the 10 miles of mudflats. The parking lots below the causeway will become flooded.

- (2) 3 million visitors a year will file up the Grande Rue to the abbey.

- (3) Less than 150 people actually live on the island.

- (3) The tourist office is on the left, behind the first gate as you enter town. The tide table is posted here.

- (4) A 3km causeway links Mont-St-Michel to the mainland. Cars must be left outside in the parking lots.

- (7) The island is famous for its puffy omelets.

- (8) The island is surrounded by quicksand and the tide races in at up to 6mph during the spring.

- (8) This national monument draws 850,000 visitors per year.

- (8) The Grande Rue is crowded with tourists and souvenir shops. This is the route the pilgrims have followed since the 12^th century.

Friday, Nov 2nd

Mont-St-Michel

- (4) The granite used to construct the abbey was transported from the Isles of Chausey and hauled up to the site.

- (2) A monastery was founded in the late 10^th century, and throughout the Middle Ages played a dual religious and military role.

- (2) As a fortress, Mont-St-Michel resisted the English throughout the Hundred Years War.

- (2) The buildings are a combination of the finest sacred Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The incomplete nave is Romanesque, the choir is Gothic.

- (3) Legend has it that in AD708, the Archangel Michael appeared in a dream to Archbishop Aubewrt of Avranches and commanded him to build an abbey on the island. From then until the 16^th century, a succession of Romanesque and Gothic buildings were built, resulting in the jumbled buildings that now stand on the rock.

- (4) The abbey’s monastic vocation was undermined during the 17^th century, when the monks began to flout the strict rules and discipline of their order, drifting into a state of decadence that culminated in the monks’ dispersal and the abbey’s conversion into a prison, well before the French Revolution.

- (4) In 1874 the former abbey was handed over to a governmental agency; only within the past 20 years have monks been able to live and work here once more.

- (8) English attacks during the Hundred Years War led to the construction of fortified walls with imposing towers.

- (8) Four bays of the Romanesque nave survive. Three were torn down in 1776, creating the west terrace.

- (8) La Merveille is a Gothic masterpiece – a 3 story monastic complex built in only 16 years.

- (8) The crypt of 30 candles is one of two 11^th century crypts built to support the transepts of the main church.

- (8) The cloisters with their elegant columns in staggered rows are early 13^th century Anglo-Norman style.

- (8) The 3 levels of the abbey reflect the monastic hierarchy. The monks lived at the highest level, in an enclosed world of church, cloister and refectory. The abbot entertained his noble guests on the middle level. Soldiers and pilgrims further down on the social scale were received at the lowest level.

Fougeres

- (8) A fortress town close to the Breton border, Fougeres rests on a hill overlooking the Nancon River. In the valley below, and still linked to the Haute Ville by a curtain of ancient ramparts, stands the mighty 11^th-15^th century castle.

- (1) Fougeres has one of Europe’s largest medieval castles.

- (4) For many centuries Fougeres, a traditional cobbling and cider-making center, was a frontier town, valiantly attempting to guard Brittany against attack.

- (2) One of the best views of the turreted structure is from the garden terrace of the place aux Arbres.

- (2) The castle is eccentrically located below this substantial town.

- (3) The 13 tower fortress is surrounded by a part of the Nancon River, which acts as a natural moat. Water was a good soldier repellant, until the discovery of gunpowder.

- (4) The castle is an excellent example of the military architecture of the Middle Ages. The walls are 20ft thick in places.

- (4) There are 3 lines of fortification inside the castle, with the keep at their heart.

- (4) In the 1790’s Fougeres was a center of Royalist resistance to the French Revolution.

-

Amboise

- (4) In AD 503, Clovis, king of the Franks, met with Alaric, king of the Visigoths at Amboise.

- (7) Amboise belonged to the Counts of Anjou and Berry before becoming part of the French throne in 1434.

- (2) One of the earliest Loire settlements. Site of one of the greatest royal Chateau’s. Only fragments remain today.

- (3) The Chateau d’Amboise sits on a cliff high above town.

- (8) Louis XI lived here. Charles VIII was born here.

- (3) Charles VIII worked his men overtime (nights and winter) to complete the splendiferous Amboise.

- (4) Charles VIII died at the Chateau d’Amboise after banging his head on a low doorway.

- (4) Francois II settled here with his wife, Mary Stuart (Queen of Scots).

- (7) The Amboise Conspiracy of 1560, an ill fated Protestant plot organized against Francois II, resulted in the deaths of 1200 conspirators.

- (7) The rue National is the main market street and is reserved for pedestrians.

- (2) Francois I persuaded Leonardo da Vinci to retire at Amboise. There is a museum in his home, Le Clos Luce.

- (4) The Clos Luce, a few hundred yards up rue Victor-Hugo, is a handsome Renaissance manor.

Saturday, Nov 3^rd and Sunday, Nov 4th

Chenonceau

- (1) 15^th century Renaissance palace.

- (2) The arched gallery spans the River Cher. The work on this Chateau was directed by women.

- (2) There are fine formal gardens and a park.

- (3) Graceful façade, string of delicate, sunlit galleries overlooking the water – this is called the prettiest chateau in the Loire. Known as the “Chateau of the Ladies”.

- (3) The chateau made it through both world wars mostly undamaged. The bridge galleries served as a field hospital during WWI and as an escape point for the French Resistance during WWII.

- (4) The chateau was built in 1520 for Thomas Bohier, a wealthy tax collector (and embezzler).

- (4) Inside the chateau are splendid ceilings, colossal fireplaces, authentic furnishings, and paintings by Rubens, del Sarto and Correggio.

- (7) During WWII, the southern exit of the chateau was in the free zone, while the chateau entrance was in German occupied territory.

- (8) The turreted pavilion was built between 1513 and 1521 by Catherine Briconnet and her husband, Thomas Bohier, over the foundations of an old water mill.

- (8) The chapel has a vaulted ceiling and pilasters sculpted with acanthus leaves and cockleshells. The stained glass was destroyed by a bomb in 1944, it was replaced in 1953.

- (8) The elegant gallery crowning the bridge is Florentine in style.

Cheverny

- (2) This is a rigorously symmetrical classical château. The interior has largely been unaltered since its completion.

- (2) Decorated and furnished in Louis XIII style. It is still privately owned and inhabited.

- (2) The kennels and trophy room can be visited. The hounds are fed at the end of the day.

- (3) The Mona Lisa and other art treasures were hidden in the orangery (offlimits to visitors) during WWII.

- (3) The chateau interior is warm, luxurious and homey, despite the priceless Delft vases, Gobelin tapestries and Persian Embroideries.

- (4) The Chateau de Cheverny was finished in 1634 (one of the last). Its white, elegantly proportioned classical façade greets you across manicured lawns. The interior is one of the grandest in the Loire region.

- (4) Feeding times “la soupe aux chiens” are posted on a notice board.

- (7) Inhabited by the same family since the early 16^th century.

Chambord

- (2) Designed by an Italian architect, this monumental chateau was built as a superior hunting lodge by Francois I.

- (2) Extraordinary sculpted roofscape, consisting of numerous chimneys, bell turrets, dormer windows and spires.

- (2) Inside, the most outstanding feature is the double spiral staircase, thought to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

- (3) This is the largest chateau in the Loire valley. Francois I started work on Chambord in 1519.

- (4) Chambord is in the middle of a royal game forest with a cluster of buildings across the road. It is one of the most extraordinary structures in Europe. The façade is 420ft long, there are 440 rooms, and 365 chimneys. The grounds are surrounded by a 32km wall.

- (4) Work on the building took 12 years and required 1800 workers. When Francois I came to visit, 1200 horses were needed to transport his luggage, servants and entourage.

- (4) All of the furnishings disappeared during the French Revolution. Chambord now belongs to the state.

- (7) The Foret de Chambord is a national game reserve and observation towers have been set up for the public.

- (8) Francois I chose the salamander as his enigmatic emblem. It appears over 700 times throughout the chateau.

- (8) The central keep (donjon) with its four circular towers, forms the nucleus of the chateau.

- (8) The lantern tower is 32m high. It is supported by arched buttresses and crowned by a fleurs-de-lys.

Tourist Information Offices

Rouen

The TI faces the Cathedral. 25 pl de la Cathedrale.

They have a brochure on the Abbey Route.

Tel. 02 32 08 32 40 www.mairie-rouen.com

Honfleur

The TI is in the public library on Quai Lepaulmier. 9 rue de la Ville.

Town map and info on Normandy.

Tel. 02 31 89 23 30 www.ville-honfleur.com

Caen

Pl. du Canada (or is it pl St. Pierre)

Tel. 02 31 27 14 14

Bayeux

The TI is on the Pont St.Jean. 3 rue St. Jean

Town map and “D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy” brochure.

Tel. 02 31 51 28 28

Mont-St-Michel

The TI is on the left as you enter Mont.St Michel’s gates. Boulevard de l’Avancee

Tide tables! English tour times of the Abbey.

Tel. 02 33 60 14 30 Abbey info : 02 33 60 14 14

Fougeres

1 pl Aristide Briand

Tel. 02 99 94 12 20

Amboise

The TI is on quai du General de Gaulle in the round building.

Tel. 02 47 57 09 28 www.amboise-valloire.com

Chambord

The TI is next to the souvenir shops.

Check to make sure that your bank does not charge a fee to use ATMs and get a list of ATMs in the locations that we are traveling:

Plus: 800 843 7587

Cirrus: 800 424 7787

Romanesque and Gothic Architecture in France

France is rich in medieval architecture, ranging from small Romanesque churches to great Gothic cathedrals. As the country emerged from the Dark Ages in the 11^th century, there was a surge in Romanesque building, based on the Roman model of thick walls, rounded arches and heavy vaults. French architects improved this basic structure, leading to the flowering of Gothic in the 13^th century. Pointed arches and flying buttresses were the key features that allowed from much taller buildings with larger windows.

Romanesque Features

- This is the style that was exported to England after the Norman conquest. In England, all the Romanesque architecture is known as Norman.

- Cross shape with a rounded apse.

- Vaulted nave

- Side aisles

- Rounded arches

Gothic Features

- Doubled aisled nave

- Lady chapel behind the apse

- Buttress and Flying buttresses allow much taller structures with bigger windows

- Pointed arches are used to withstand greater stress

- Rib vault in the nave

- Rose windows

- Sculpted portal entrances

- Stepped towers

Terms

- Basilica: early church with two aisles and nave lit from above by clerestory windows

- Clerestory: a row of windows illuminating the nave from above the aisle roof

- Rose: circular window, often with stained glass

- Buttress: Mass of masonry built to support a wall

- Flying Buttress: An arched support transmitting thrust of the weight downward

- Portal: monumental entrance to a building, often decorated

- Tympanum: decorated space, often carved, over a door or window lintel

- Vault: arched stone ceiling

- Transept: two wings of a cruciform church at right angles to the nave

- Crossing: center of cruciform where transept crosses nave

- Lantern: turret with windows to illuminate interior, often with cupola (domed ceiling)

- Triforium: middle story between arcades and clerestory

- Apse: termination of the church, often rounded

- Ambulatory: aisle running around east end, passing behind the sanctuary

- Arcade: set of arches and supporting columns

- Rib vault: vault supported by projecting ribs of stone

- Gargoyle: carved grotesque figure, often a water spout

- Tracery: ornamental carved stone pattern within Gothic window

- Flamboyant Gothic: carved stone tracery resembling flames

- Capital: top of a column, usually carved