Seine Rendez-vous with Paris 2025

Even if you’ve never been to Paris before, you’ll feel like you recognise every corner of the city. Countless films, books, paintings, poems and songs have been set in the city of love. Yet there’s always more to discover. The fashion capital of the world, a mecca of art and culture, an oasis for gourmets and a metropolis for media, education and political and economic power – Paris is all of this and more. Paris is a city whose beauty never fades. The Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Madeleine, Opéra, Louvre, Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Dôme des Invalides and Centre Pompidou are just some of the sights that exemplify this city’s fame and grandeur.

You quickly lose track of time in Normandy’s capital. But you’re reminded of it again by the 600-year-old ‘Big Clock’. This is one of the world’s oldest astronomical clocks and has just one hand – for the hour; minutes and seconds just weren’t so important back then. With this laid-back attitude in mind, the best way to while away the time here is to stroll towards the city centre past the medieval facades of the timber-framed houses. Rouen goes by several names – such as, ‘The Gothic City’ and ‘The City of 100 Bell Towers’. Rouen Cathedral is partly responsible for both these names. Thanks to the work of Claude Monet, this Gothic wonder is world-famous. And there’s something else the world associates with Rouen: it’s where the ashes of a peasant’s daughter were scattered into the Seine. This was an attempt to prevent a martyr cult from developing around the young woman who was burned at the stake here in 1431. The name of this woman was Joan of Arc.

You quickly lose track of time in Normandy’s capital. But you’re reminded of it again by the 600-year-old ‘Big Clock’. This is one of the world’s oldest astronomical clocks and has just one hand – for the hour; minutes and seconds just weren’t so important back then. With this laid-back attitude in mind, the best way to while away the time here is to stroll towards the city centre past the medieval facades of the timber-framed houses. Rouen goes by several names – such as, ‘The Gothic City’ and ‘The City of 100 Bell Towers’. Rouen Cathedral is partly responsible for both these names. Thanks to the work of Claude Monet, this Gothic wonder is world-famous. And there’s something else the world associates with Rouen: it’s where the ashes of a peasant’s daughter were scattered into the Seine. This was an attempt to prevent a martyr cult from developing around the young woman who was burned at the stake here in 1431. The name of this woman was Joan of Arc.

It’s said that you can hear the beams creaking like old bones when you see the Vieux Moulin de Vernon. The mill is perched on two pillars, seemingly suspended in mid-air over the Seine, while its roof sags like an old worn-out horse. Claude Monet painted the mill; reassuringly, the sag is visible in these paintings, which date back to 1883. Vernon has a few sights, such as a Gothic abbey church with stunningly colourful stained-glass windows. Nevertheless, it’s almost impossible to resist the lure of excursions to nearby destinations. In Château de Bizy (also known as ‘Little Versailles’), you can revel in luxurious Renaissance décor and go for a delightful stroll around the elegant park. Claude Monet’s house in Giverny is another magnet for culture enthusiasts and romantics – and rightly so. Unsurprisingly, the lush garden looks like a wild field of flowers from an impressionist painting. The crowning glory is the enchanting pond of water lilies – the subject of one of the most valuable paintings in the world.

Even if you’ve never been to Paris before, you’ll feel like you recognise every corner of the city. Countless films, books, paintings, poems and songs have been set in the city of love. Yet there’s always more to discover. The fashion capital of the world, a mecca of art and culture, an oasis for gourmets and a metropolis for media, education and political and economic power – Paris is all of this and more. Paris is a city whose beauty never fades. The Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Madeleine, Opéra, Louvre, Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Dôme des Invalides and Centre Pompidou are just some of the sights that exemplify this city’s fame and grandeur.

Even if you’ve never been to Paris before, you’ll feel like you recognise every corner of the city. Countless films, books, paintings, poems and songs have been set in the city of love. Yet there’s always more to discover. The fashion capital of the world, a mecca of art and culture, an oasis for gourmets and a metropolis for media, education and political and economic power – Paris is all of this and more. Paris is a city whose beauty never fades. The Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Madeleine, Opéra, Louvre, Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Dôme des Invalides and Centre Pompidou are just some of the sights that exemplify this city’s fame and grandeur.