Welcome to Vernon! a commune in the French department of Eure which lies on the banks of the river Seine, about midway between Paris and Rouen

Being pressed for time to find budget accommodation for two nights in Vernon, I picked this newly built annex which was near enough to the main railway station - on arrival I found out it was still in the early building stages!

There were pluses & minuses to this accommodation, being a new build some things worked and others did not - the front door lock being one of them! I had to take my chances for the day trip to Paris before that nobody would access the place though it was in the grounds of the hosts garden so it was safe enough!

The Old mill on the broken bridge in Vernon c. 17th century

Château des Tourelles- this castle originated in 1196, when Philippe Auguste (Philip II of France), fighting against the king of England, Richard the Lionheart, for possession of Normandy, seized Vernon and made the town a military base

Information plaque and map of interesting sites around Vernon

This Pont Clemenceau bridge in Vernon originated in the 12th century, it has been rebuilt over the centries, destroyed in both World Wars and this latest bridge today, the fourth generation, was re-built in 1955

View of the The Old mill & Château des Tourelles from the other side of the Pont Clemenceau bridge

Building I spotted in the Vernon backstreets - I like the glass awning and the symmetrical design of the steps and chimneys!

A sweet cat that was looking at me on my travels through Vernon

Gare de Vernon - Giverny - notice the classic French advertising green 'Morris Column' in the right of this photo!

The beautiful facade of the Rouen-Rive-Droite railway station c.1847

Cool Clark Gable print in my Rouen hotel room

Rouen, the capital of Normandy, has some of the best medieval half-timbered houses in the whole of France

Another shot of those medieval buildings

Whilst walking through the streets of Rouen I saw this strange cycling vehicle - it was for some kind of promotion but I couldn't work out for what, cool ride though!

Le Gros-Horloge, Rouen - a storied 14th-century astronomical clock set on a Renaissance arch with detailed carvings

The carvings underneath the Renaissance arch of Le Gros-Horloge

The astronomical clocks mechanism is one of the oldest in France, the movement having been made in 1389, it's almost as old as The Zytglogge one in Bern, Switzerland!

The facade of the Renaissance arch of Le Gros-Horloge is a wonder in itself!

Close-up of the Le Gros-Horloge facade and the Ludovico XV marble fountain

Looking over the Seine that runs trough Rouen

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen (Rouen Cathedral) The cathedral, built and rebuilt over a period of more than eight hundred years, has features from Early Gothic to late Flamboyant and Renaissance architecture

Rouen Cathedral close-up 01 - the west front

Rouen Cathedral close-up 02 - Tympanum of the portal of Notre-Dame

Rouen Cathedral close-up 02 - Sculpture of Apostles on the North Buttress

You can see the bullet/shrapnel holes made to Rouen Cathedral during World War II although the cathedral was mostly protected thanks to the authorities taking precautions before the bombing raids

Close-up of the Grande Pharmacie Du Centre Art Nouveau style sign which is opposite Rouen Cathedral

Joan of Arc shop sign that is opposite St Joan of Arc's Church

The Église Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc (St Joan of Arc's Church) in Rouen, completed in 1979 in the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy in 1431

The actual spot in the church grounds where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake

The sweeping curves of the structure are meant to evoke both the flames that consumed Joan of Arc and an overturned longship

My last photo of the day and it's this night shot of cinema Omnia, a Parisian cinema in Rouen

Up the Seine without a Paddle 4K (click on the picture to play)

Up the Seine without a Paddle, France 2022 Fully Loaded Cycle Tour

Day Three: Vernon to Rouen | Northern France Fully Loaded Cycle Tour

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Note: click on any photo to start a cool manual slideshow without the annotations! (give us a thumbs up/down if you enjoyed the photos!)

Photos from my nine day Fully Loaded Cycle Tour in September 2022 along the Seine River, Normandy and my second cycle touring trip in France. On this journey I took a mixture of train, boat & cycling and stayed in budget hotels, apartments & campsites and the weather was full of surprises as you will see! each photo has a annotation under it so you can follow along with the journey.

Also on this trip I took a variety of cameras including a 360 camera & a action camera and have made a full length video to accompany these photos! you can check that out here on my YouTube channel (and I have embedded it on the end of each album), as ever, enjoy the photos!