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Rouen
Rouen is the prefecture of the Seine-Maritime and the capital of Normandy, 136 kilometres north-west of Paris. Between 911 and 1204, it was the capital of the Duchy of Normandy. Joan of Arc was imprisoned, tried and burned alive there in 1431. The town has about 118,000 inhabitants and its urban area more than 500,000.
Nicknamed the "city of a hundred spires" for the density of its religious buildings, Rouen is known for its cathedral, counted among the tallest in the world, and for its half-timbered houses that characterise the medieval district. Gustave Flaubert and Pierre Corneille were natives. Badly hit in the Second World War, the town recovered thanks to its port and industry: the Grand Port Maritime de Rouen is the fifth in France. It also hosts the Armada, a great gathering of sailing ships, every four to six years.
