3. Rouen to Pont de l’Arche

Malo or Maclou, Breton bishop, he would have been born in Wales when he was inspired to evangelize the Bretons not far from the city of Aleth (Saint-Malo) which now bears his name. He continued his peregrination towards Aquitaine and it is in Saintonge that he ended his earthly pilgrimage. Legend has it that Maclou went to Luxeuil to meet the monk Colomban.
The construction of this church, considered by art historians as a jewel of flamboyant gothic art, began in 1437. It has a famous 5-porch portal decorated with magnificent carved wooden doors dating from the Renaissance. The church has interesting furnishings: a flamboyant Gothic staircase, a beautiful Renaissance organ case as well as a rood arch and 18th century baroque confessionals. The bombings of 1944 severely damaged the tower on the transept, now restored the ensemble has regained its past splendour.
More information: Wikipedia

The Aître Saint-Maclou bears witness to the great plague epidemics that ravaged the city. It is one of the rare mass graves cemeteries existing today. This cemetery is part of the Saint-Maclou parish, whose church is nearby. The entrance to the porch is located near the chevet of the Saint-Maclou church. The creation of l'Aître dates back to the black plague of 1348 which struck Europe. The site succeeds the old 13th century cemetery which had become too cramped. A new plague epidemic in 1521 made it necessary to increase the cemetery's capacity by building an ossuary consisting of three galleries arranged around the mass grave. The bodies are deposited in a common pit with lime, after putrefaction the bones are deposited under the roofs of the galleries of the ossuary. In 1779 the Normandy Parliament ordered the abolition of cemeteries in towns, the Aître is closed.  In the 17th century a new building was built in the south to enclose the cemetery courtyard. The building is a school for poor children it will be closed in the early twentieth century. L'Aître became the property of the city of Rouen which will install a museum of Norman art.
The half-timberings are richly sculpted and the whole offers a beautiful architectural harmony.
Restoration work began in 2018.

This hill, 140m. high, is located on the Via Columbani at the exit of the Rouen conurbation and offers you an exceptional panorama of the capital of Normandy, when the weather is fine.
Claude Monet, in 1892 painted "General view of Rouen" from this point of view. Here he created a colourful work of uncertain forms, where only Notre-Dame cathedral and Saint-Maclou church stand out.

The Marian pilgrimage of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours is the only one in Seine-Maritime. It dates back to the Middle Ages and its history is recounted on a marble plaque hung on the porch wall.
The basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours is located on the site of a pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin. Designed by the architect Barthélémy, the first stone of the new building was laid on 4 March 1840. It is designed in the neo-gothic style, the first example of this style in France. Pope Pius IX honoured the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours with the privilege of coronation on 15 July 1870.
More information: Wikipedia

Jean Pierre Prosper Godart de Belbeuf, Marquis de Belbeuf, had this castle built in the 18th century, in place of a 16th century manor house, of which a polygonal tower remains. After the death of the last Marquis de Belbeuf in 1906 the castle changed ownership. Abandoned after the Second World War, it was bought at auction by the Anciennes Mutuelles de Rouen.
It is a private property that cannot be visited.

It was under Philippe Auguste, around 1200, that Port-Saint-Ouen was chosen as the port of the abbey of Saint-Ouen in Rouen, and retained its historical importance during the 100 years war, and even later: General Bonaparte accompanied by his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais was received in the house of the citizen-mayor M Tallendier who was surrounded by the notables of Rouen who came to welcome the first consul at the entrance of the department.
The church of the Authieux, dedicated to Saint Saturnin, belongs to two different eras. The choir is a work of the 13th century as evidenced by the cornice and the lancets. The nave is a 16th century construction. The baptistery also seems to date back to the XVIth century.
At the beginning of the 20th century, 5 stained glass windows of the church were classified.

The parish of Pont-de-l'Arche appears in a charter of Richard, Duke of Normandy granting in 1020 spiritual and especially financial rights (especially on river traffic) to the Abbey of Jumièges.
The town developed around the fortified bridge, a structure that allowed the collection of fees for the towing of ships and was historically an area of conflict between the kingdoms of France and England.   
Notre Dame des Arts Church
Founded in the 16th century in the flamboyant Gothic style, the church of Notre-Dame-des-Arts in Pont-de-l'Arche contains great treasures: in addition to its very ornate southern façade, one can observe its beautiful stained glass windows from the 17th and 20th centuries, particularly the one representing the towing of the boats, the work of Martin Verel in 1605. Also worthy of note are the stalls from Bonport Abbey a little further downstream, the great organ donated by King Henry IV and the 17th century baroque high altar.