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Rouen Travel & Hotels

Where is Rouen?

Rouen is located on the River Seine in the northen French region of Normandy and is the capital of the region as well as being the administrative centre for the Seine-Maritime department.

It is situated about 125km to the northwest of Paris and is around 65km from the northern coast of France.

How to Get to Rouen

Rouen has the expected good travel connections between the city, Paris and the coast. One feature of the landscape which does complicate travel in the northern part of Normandy is however the route of the Seine with many road routes requiring a decision whether to go north or south of the river.

How to Get to Rouen by Road

Rouen is a big conglomeration of city and suburbs spread out on both sides of the Seine and can be complicated to get in and out of unless one is planning on using a major motorway artery.

Many of the major routes arrive in the city at the motorway junctions to the south of the river and then head over the water on one of the major bridges to the east and west of the city centre. There is an inner ring road of boulevards which crosses the Seine via the Pont Mathilde and Pont Guillaume Le Conquérant bridges and a set of two larger arteries on the banks of the river:

  • the A28 motorway to the northeast
    This route leads from Rouen up towards Amiens, with a junction leading further north to Calais.
  • the A150/151 to the north
    The motorway heads north before splitting. The A150 goes to Barentin before turning into a departmental road through to the junction with the A29 and the route through to the northern coast along to Le Havre. The A151 heads virtually due north past the junction with the A29 and onto Dieppe.
  • the A13 motorway to the south
    This part of the A13 is the main route down to Paris in the south-east. It also provides access from the A154 and Evreux.
  • the A13 to the southwest
    This section of the A13 heads to the west in the direction of Caen and Le Havre and the towns of Lower Normandy. There is also a major junction just to the southwest of Rouen, where the A28 joins from Le Mans.

Local bus and tram services in the area around Rouen are provided by TCAR (Transports en Commun de l'Agglomération Rouennaise).

How to Get to Rouen by Rail

Rouen's main rail station (Rouen Rive-Droite) is on the northern side of the city centre (see the more detailed map on the main Rouen page). It is also a major junction for public transport in the city. Rouen is an important stop on the high-speed TGV rail network which links the city on high-speed lines to the rest of the country.

The TGV routes are:

  • Le Havre - Rouen - Lyon - Marseilles
  • Le Havre - Rouen - Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport - Strasbourg

Other notable rail routes include:

  • Rouen - Dieppe
  • Rouen - Elbeuf - Caen
  • Paris St Lazare - Rouen - Fécamp
  • Le Havre -Yvetot - Rouen
  • Rouen - Amiens - Lille
  • Rouen - Evreux
  • Rouen - Vernon - Paris St Lazare

How to Get to Rouen by Air

Rouen Airport (actually Aéroport Rouen Vallée de Seine, to give it its official name) is a small airport to the southeast of Rouen with no scheduled flights for visitors from abroad (there are charter holiday flights to Corsica, for example).

Beauvais Airport (Aéroport de Beauvais-Tillé), nearly 130km away in the neighbouring province of Picardy, is a hub for European low-cost carriers. Ryanair currently offers flights to the UK and Eire.

By far and away the best range of options for those arriving by air and wanting to go to Rouen are the international airports around Paris. Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport is the main international airport and is located just over 150km from the city.

How to Get to Rouen by Ferry

Only river ferries on the Seine arrive at Rouen. The nearest cross-Channel passenger services are located at Dieppe (65km), which is an easy drive north from Rouen.

Alternatively Le Havre is only just over 90km away from the city with decent motorway connections while Caen-Ouistreham is another option that is a little further (135km) away.

Services to Dieppe are offered from DFDS from Newhaven, while Le Havre and Caen-Ouistreham are both served by Britanny Ferries (Cherbourg and Portsmouth, respectively).

Rouen Travel Resources and Map

Beauvais Airport - www.aeroportbeauvais.com
DFDS - www.dfds.com
Britanny Ferries - www.brittany-ferries.co.uk

Rouen Hotel Accommodation

Hotel de Bourgtheroulde, RouenHôtel de Bourgtheroulde
15 Place de la Pucelle
76000 Rouen
Tel: 02 35 14 50 50
A five-star boutique hotel right in the centre of the city. The building dates from the 15th century.
Hotel Centre Cathedrale, RouenHôtel Centre Cathédrale
Angle Rue St Nicolas et Rue Croix de Fer
76000 Rouen
Tel: 02 35 52 69 52
A four-star hotel in the centre of the city next to the cathedral which belongs to the massive Mercure brand.
Hotel des Carmes, RouenHôtel des Carmes
33 Place des Carmes
76000 Rouen
Tel: 02 35 71 92 31
A very French two-star hotel in a 19th century building near the centre of the city and not far from the cathedral.

Places to Stay in Rouen

Click the '+' sign to zoom in on a particular part of the city and reveal more places to stay or click the '-' symbol to zoom out and look at the areas around Rouen.

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