Rouen, Normandy

At the tender age of nineteen, that uppity gal, Joan of Arc, was burnt to death in this fair city. The year was 1431, 92 years after the start of the Hundred Years War and 22 years before its conclusion. And, no, it is not true that Joan of Arc was Noah's daughter.
Rouen is in Upper Normandy and straddles the River Seine, the same river that runs through Paris. Situated at the widest point that the river could be bridged at that time, Rouen was, at one time, the third largest port in France although it has since slipped to fifth place. A mid-sized city - 110,000 population, give or take a few, in the city proper - it is rife with stuff to gawk at. As usual, parking anywhere near downtown was not possible so we drove out a mile or so until we found an open spot in an safe looking residential area and then took a bus back into the center. The area where we parked is called The Cottages and one side of the street was lined with cute looking abodes like the one in the picture. The terrain around Rouen is quite hilly and houses are jammed into every available space.
In turn, a Celtic trading post, a Roman garrison, a Viking colony, the capital of the Norman Duchy, a British possession on and off during the Hundred Years war, then mainly French except for WWII when it was German for a while, Rouen has endured many changes of allegiance, typical throughout Europe. The city was seriously damaged in WWII. Click here for a tour.