Rouen from LeHavre?

[saltshell]

Is doing Rouen from LeHavre practable? 

[edinburgher]

Absolutely. We did it.  A little under an hour by train.  Main town of Normandy. Lovely historic city with particular reference to St  Joan of Arc.

 

We explored the very pretty historic centre, including  the church  of St Joan of Arc.on foot after takling the little tourist  train ride around the centre.to get our bearings.

 

Lots of info and images about Rouen should be easily found online to temp you.

 

If travelling by train, don't forget to validate your train ticket at one of the machines before boarding. or you risk a fine.

[saltshell]

Thanks Edinburger 

[palushka]

On 3/26/2023 at 5:51 PM, edinburgher said:

Absolutely. We did it.  A little under an hour by train.  Main town of Normandy. Lovely historic city with particular reference to St  Joan of Arc.

 

We explored the very pretty historic centre, including  the church  of St Joan of Arc.on foot after takling the little tourist  train ride around the centre.to get our bearings.

 

Lots of info and images about Rouen should be easily found online to temp you.

 

If travelling by train, don't forget to validate your train ticket at one of the machines before boarding. or you risk a fine.

Did you buy your train tickets in advance? Thanks

[edinburgher]

No, as we always prefer to wait until the day in case the ship doesn't make it into port for some reason or another, but you must do what works best for you.

[mskaufman]

Rouen from last summer

[edinburgher]

Nice picture! It is the sort of picture we saw pre-cruise which tempted us to visit. I don't know why more cruise pax don't go there.

[mskaufman]

We were there overnight and also saw the light show at the cathedral

[saltshell]

Saw the light show years ago; fantastic!

[edinburgher]

Sounds good, but with only a few hours there we missed it, but still enjoyed the time we had.

[khakiberrie]

We’re thinking of the ship excursion to Rouen. In the old days, an English speaking guide accompanied tourists & was w us the entire trip except for lunch.  Tours today see like there’s no person on the bus with the guests… just head phones & commentary in 50 languages.  What are the RCC tours like in Le Harve??  A real person to ask questions or just descriptions on an ear plug?   We’re on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem & don’t do their excursions if they’re impersonal & detached.   We’d love a private tour on 9 May, with a real guide who knows the  history of the area!!   Some vans & buses for 4-6-10 guests. And they’re informative.  That’s what I want!!!  Anyone have any experiences they can share???  Are tours easy to find when we dock?  We’d like ones with fellow travellers from our own ship, but it’s not necessary if the return time is the same.  What’s Rouen like & can we get a real person to show us around??  Thank you!!

[Hlitner]

We will echo much of what Edinburgher has posted.  Yes, it is a relatively easy option with the toughest challenge getting to/from train stations.  Since DW and I are very comfortable with long walking days (measured in miles) the challenge was doable.  Once at the Le Havre train station (taxi or about a 45 min walk) we simply purchased tickets for the next train (about one train per hour).  By the way, there is a nice discount for seniors (I think it is 60+) if you ask at the ticket window.

 

Once at Rouen, we simply walked from the station into the center of town (think of a mile..much of it downhill).  We spent the day (always walking) strolling around Rouen, having a nice lunch, doing the usual sightseeing.  It was than a more difficult walk back to the station where we caught the next train back to Le Havre.  I think the last time we did this it was the Saturday when there were NO taxis at the Le Havre station (locals figured all the drivers were home having dinner).  Rather than stand around praying that a taxi would eventually show-up, we simply walked back to our ship (we had plenty of time since our ship was not departing until 11pm).

 

For those considering this option I will mention that on prior visits to Le Havre we have rented cars (and drove ourselves just about everywhere in the region) and once used a shared taxi to simply spend a day in Honfleur.   We have also trekked all the way to Paris (once on an excursion and another time using the train).  Of all the options, we would likely never use a port day to return to Paris which remains DW's favorite city in the world.  When it comes to Paris, we prefer spending 1-2 weeks (usually in a rental apartment).  While Rouen is manageable for a one-day visit, Paris is crazy to do on a port day.  The exception might be the person who has a once in a lifetime chance to see Paris and is happy to get a tiny snapshot.  We have long suggested (to fellow cruisers) to do a cruise that has Le Havre as its last port (usually before returning to England) and arrange to disembark a day early (in Le Havre) from where you head to Paris for a multi-day or week stay.

 

Hank

[chatuga]

Can you Uber in le harve from the port to train station ?
If you use a taxi are credit cards accepted?

[D&N]

4 hours ago, chatuga said:

Can you Uber in le harve from the port to train station ?
If you use a taxi are credit cards accepted?

I gave an answer to that question recently in this thread:

 

[chatuga]

I am very interested in taking the train from Le Havre to Rouen. Is there any tourist information at the train station in Rouen?  Is the station convenient to the historical center of town? Is the tourist train worth doing or is this city a great diy?

[Hlitner]

30 minutes ago, chatuga said:

I am very interested in taking the train from Le Havre to Rouen. Is there any tourist information at the train station in Rouen?  Is the station convenient to the historical center of town? Is the tourist train worth doing or is this city a great diy?

Much depends on you and how much you are able and like to walk.  DW and I, easily walked from the train station to the center of Rouen, down to the river, etc.  Over a long day one can certainly walk a few miles.  While we can still handle a 10 mile walking day (and we are in our 70s) there are plenty of folks that have difficulty getting from one end of the ship to the other or walking down a single flight of steps.  It is about 2/3 of a mile from the train station to the Cathedral

 

Hank

[simplyrubies]

7 hours ago, chatuga said:

I am very interested in taking the train from Le Havre to Rouen. Is there any tourist information at the train station in Rouen?  Is the station convenient to the historical center of town? Is the tourist train worth doing or is this city a great diy?

No tourist info at the train station that I know of, beyond potentially some pamphlets or advertisements on display. There is a tourist office in the city itself, though I can't speak to how good it is as I never stopped in on my visits to Rouen. 

 

From the station to the town centre, there is some walking involved as Hank said. And there is also some walking within the historical centre of town. 

 

I think Rouen is very DIY'able and a very practicable trip from Le Havre.

There is a lot to do just in the historic centre like the cathedral, Musée des Beaux-Arts, the new Joan of Arc Historical Exhibition, even just walking around the shops and trying different foods. I always DIY'ed my Rouen trips and was glad to be able to see the city on my own time and schedule.