Caen Tourist Attractions

The central feature Caen is the Place St-Pierre, with a monument to Joan of Arc (1964). Here too is the church of St-Pierre (13th-14th C), with a 75 m/245ft high tower (1308), whose boldly soaring spire was destroyed in 1944 and subsequently rebuilt. The interior is notable for a magnificent Renaissance apse, with rich decoration and unusual stalactitic vaulting. Opposite St- Pierre, to the west, is the Hôtel d'Escoville, a Renaissance mansion of 1538 (restored) with a beautiful courtyard.

In Caen, occupying an extensive area on the hill which rises immediately to the north of Place St-Pierre, is a castle built by William the Conqueror (1060; enlarged in 13th-15th C), now laid out in gardens, which is entered through the 14th C Porte des Champs on the east side. From the terrace and from the castle walls there are fine views of the town.

North of the castle are the imposing new buildings of the University. A short distance west is the church of St-Julien, on an elliptical plan, built in 1958 on the site of a church destroyed in 1944.

In Caen, in Rue de Geôle, which runs along the west side of the castle, is the Maison des Quatrans (No. 31), a handsome half-timbered house built in 1381. Within the precincts of the castle are the chapel of St-Georges (12th and 15th C), with a Romanesque nave; the Musée des Beaux-Arts (1960), with pictures by Rogier van der Weyden, Tintoretto, Rubens, Courbet and Boudin and faience from Rouen, Nevers and Strasbourg; the Musée de Normandie (a museum of regional interest, with exhibits illustrating the history of Normandy); and the Salle de l'Echiquier, a splendid Romanesque building in which the Council of Normandy used to meet.

In Caen, to the east of Place St-Pierre, at the end of Rue des Chanoines, is the Place de la Reine-Mathilde, in which is the magnificent Romanesque abbey church of La Trinité or of the Abbaye-aux-Dames, built by William the Conqueror's wife Matilda in 1062 to expiate the offence of marrying her cousin. In the impressive interior is the queen's tomb, and beneath this is a crypt. Adjoining the church, on the site of a Benedictine abbey founded by Matilda, is the Hôtel-Dieu, a hospital built in the 18th century.

In Caen, south of Place St-Pierre is the St-Jean district, rebuilt after wartime destruction, with the church of St- Jean (14th-15th century; badly damaged in 1944 but since restored) and the broad Avenue du 6-Juin (D-day 1944), which runs south over the Orne to the railroad station.Some 1,500 m/1,600yd south of the station is the Château d'Eau de la Guérinière (by G. Gillet, 1957), a water-tower in the shape of a top.Rue St-Pierre, the main street of the old town, runs southwest from Place St-Pierre. 200 m/220yd along this street, on the right, are two handsome half-timbered houses (Nos. 52 and 54). Farther along, also on the right, is the church of St- Sauveur (14th-15th century), with a beautiful tower and a richly decorated apse of 1546. Rue St-Pierre continues past the church through a part of the town which escaped destruction during the last war and ends in Place Malherbe. A little way south is the Jesuit church of Notre-Dame de la Gloriette (1684).

The Mémorial, to the northwest of the town center, is a modern Peace Museum, built of light-colored sandstone in the form of a square block (architect Jacques Millet). Its themes are the two world wars and the means of ensuring and preserving peace.

In Caen, to the west of the castle is the Jardin des Plantes, a beautifully laid out botanical garden.The garden began in 1689 by John Callard of Ducquerie, with a few plants in his private garden. Two greenhouses were built in 1860 and the Botanical Institute was built in 1891. Jardin des Plantes did not weather the bombings in 1944 so restoration began and new greenhouses were added in 1988.

This annual week-long festival takes place in mid-March and highlights contemporary musicians. In this spirit, numerous living composers are invited to the festival. Five chamber concerts are usually organized every year in the Grand Auditorium. In addition, there are theatrical presentations, art exhibitions and lectures running throughout the festival week.

Incorporating a variety of modern audio-visual displays, along with a to-scale Typhoon fighter-bomber, the Caen Mémorial museum demonstrates the history of the major 20th C. conflicts. Three films, D-Day, the Liberation of Europe and the Quest for Peace are all on show, each being about an hour in length.

A classical temple stands at one end of the woods in the Château de Canon garden while a charming scarlet chinoiserie kiosk hangs over stream at the other end.

An annual Easter Market is held in April in Caen.