From the owner: Musée aquarium du littoral haut-normand à Dieppe L'ESTRAN…read moreCité de la Mer présente des expositions sur la construction navale, la pêche, l'environnement littoral et des aquariums d'eau de mer froide où évoluent, bars, morues, homards, hippocampes, méduses...

I was very impressed walking through this building. The display is in the information told me…read morethings that I never knew about something that I thought I knew quite a bit of bad. The presentation was well conceived and comfortable. There were plenty of places to stop and listen with the language interpretation headsets that were presented before going on the tour. It's self guided and at your own pace. It worked out wonderfully period it is attached to the Basilica which are able to wander around on the inside which is an amazing structure that was rebuilt after World War II you can imagine the massive size of this name out of work that went into restoring it to its former glory. Be sure to see this little storyboard showing the rebuild.

While I would say that it can be a little difficult to find, being located in a small alleyway…read morebeside the Rouen Cathedral, it is about Jeanne d'arc, and anything about Jeanne is pretty clearly advertised in and around Rouen (in fact they clearly mark all of the significant Jeanne related spots in the city). This isn't actually your ordinary museum, and it definitely isn't her house (you are going to have to go out into the French countryside to actually find her birthplace), but it is a museum that is dedicated to her (I believe that it is the former Archbishop's residence). The museum is more like a guided documentary that follows the second trial of Jeanne, the one that acquitted here (after she had been burnt at the stake mind you) and goes through all aspects of her life, her time in the military, the Battle of Orleans, and of course here capture, trial, and eventual execution. As it is set up as a video where you move from room to room for a different part, they only let people in every fifteen minutes, and the entire tour takes around an hour and a half (depending on how long you spend in the final rooms that look at her legacy). Certainly a different way to set up a museum, and definitely a place to visit if you happen to be in Rouen.

Ahh, another great art gallery, and it is a little bigger than the one that I visited in Arras. The…read moregallery is actually a mix between an archeological museum and a art gallery, and is divided into various rooms. One of the rooms is decated to paintings, another to sculptures, and another room dedicated to religious art, and in the basement you have the archeological museum which explores all of the stuff dug up in the area as well as the evolution of Amiens from Roman times. There is also an upstairs area, but that was still being retrofitted so there wasn't a huge amount of stuff here. Still, it was definitely a pretty awesome museum, and while the collection wasn't as large compared to some museums, there is still enough here to keep you engaged.

From the owner: Une belle collection régionale Construit de 1855 a 1867 par ordre de Napoléon III, le musée de…read morePicardie figure parmi les dix plus grands musées Français de province pour la richesse de ses collections en archéologie, peinture, et sculpture. La plupart des collections proviennent de fouilles régionales. Parmi les oeuvres, on trouve des pièces datant du Moyen-Age et provenant de la cathédrale d'Amiens. L'art contemporain est également représenté avec une des oeuvres de Sol Le Witt.

Two fortunate things happened when I came here. Firstly the computers were down so we got in for…read morefree, and secondly they had an exhibition on a group of impressionists. In fact a lot of paintings that I didn't see in the Mussee d'Orsay weren't there because they happened to be here. While the exhibition (or exposition as they say it in French) was impressive, the rest of the museum was doubly so. In fact the museum is not only quite large, but also has a pretty decent collection of paintings, and other works of art, as well. In fact it can be easy to get lost. Unfortunately, not all of the halls were open, which was a bit of a shame, but we did get to see quite a lot.

I enjoyed visiting this museum, and it's impressive temporary impressionist art exhibit that was…read morepart of the Normany Impressionist Festival in August of 2013. (And as we walked through the exhibit, my husband whispered "Monet, Monet, Monet, Monet - Mo-ne!" to the tune of the song "Money".) There are 2 floors to the museum, and my husband & I explored the beautiful permanent art exhibits as well. It takes an hour or so to get through everything.

Lovely little museum of Monet's art. We stopped by after visiting Monet's house & gardens. We…read moreenjoyed reading about his life and works and seeing his paintings. We spent around 30min-45min.

Free entry to the museum was all we needed to hear! After a wonderful few hours at Monet's…read moregardens, we saw the sign welcoming visitors so we went inside 3 rooms of widely spaced artworks & this exhibition was covering comparisons of Monet and Rothko. Never would have thought to compare the two but it worked! Lots of benches to sit & gaze at the masters & contemplate their works We were fans!

From the owner: Classé au titre des Monuments Historiques Installé dans l'ancien Logis des Gouverneurs du Château,…read morele Musée de Normandie a été créé en 1946 comme l'un des points d'un réseau de musées régionaux qui naît à cette date. Le musée ouvrit ses portes au public à la fin de 1963, après plus de quinze ans de recherches et de collectes principalement dans le domaine ethnographique. Vinrent ensuite s'adjoindre à ces collections d'arts et traditions populaires qui continuent de s'accroître, des séries archéologiques provenant de fouilles de plus en plus nombreuses. Cet accroissement, a en outre été marqué en 1983 par le dépôt des collections de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie fondée en 1835 par Arcisse de Caumont.

One of those surprising things you weren't expecting! A steampunk like museum dedicated to turn if…read morethe century motors and engines. The friendly owner often has one fired up for visitors to see. All the engines are in one big room. Placards explain their history in French and English. It won't take long to just take a look since the building is halfway between Monet's gardens and the church where he is buried. Tip jar for donations.

It was so cool to visit the little town of Auvers-sur-Oise where Vincent Van Gogh spent the final,…read moreyet very productive, 70 days of his life before his suicide death at age 37. We stood at the very spots where he painted some wheat fields, where he painted the town city hall, and where he painted the local church. We saw the inn where he rented a room for those final days. Visiting here definitely gives you a sense of connection with one of the world's greatest painters. He painted what he felt from the scene in front of him and the style of his 2100 paintings was ahead of his time as he never achieved any fame until well after his death. It's well worth a visit!

So I realize that some of the things I do only appeal to a certain demo…read more..... Some people are going to appreciate this more than other and some are going to ask why I would drive an hour plus through Paris traffic to get to Auvers-sur-Oise? The answer is that I'm a damn Van Gogh nerd..... The Van Gogh traveling experience is great but nothing.....nothing compares to standing in front of the real thing. I didn't think it could get much better than being at Orsay and admiring Starry Night over the Rhône. Or being at MOM and seeing The Starry Night (Arles) Yea, I was wrong. Being at Auvers-sur-Oise and walking in his footsteps is an experience all it's own. Visiting the house he rented the room he would eventually die in is a somber experience. The true highlight though is the Van Gogh walk..... Walk the same roads and fields, stop and look at the inspiration from some of his last and most recognizable paintings. The city has done a great job of marking the trail and setting up informational stations along the route. I cannot recommend this trip enough. I'll be back one day.....

Having focussed on Carentan and Omaha Beach during our first few days of the 80th anniversary of…read moreD-Day (the American stories), today was the turn of the British and Canadian side, which tends to be less advertised. Smaller in scope than some of the other museums with less people, the museum tells the important story of the taking of the Pegasus bridge by the British airborne on D-Day. Although a bit chaotic, the museum is a fitting monument, highlighting some of the main differences between the American and British approach (gliders & Bailey bridge). Don't miss the film.

This is a great way to learn everything about the Pegasus bridge story of WWII. We were doing a D…read moreDay tour with our own historian but the local guide knew a few details that our historian was not aware of. don't miss this museum if you are a WWII history buff!