"Rouen : both a modern and a medieval... " a Rouen Travel Page by JLBG

Rouen began to grow at the Roman period under the name of Rotomagus, capital to the Véliocasses. It is situated on the Seine river at the place where was the last bridge between both banks before the sea. From the beginning, it was a trading place.
The Viking Rollon (845-933) took the baptism under the name of Robert and bacame the first earl of Normandie.

During the hundred years war, Rouen a strategic place between the king of france and the king of England. Jeanne d'Arc was burnt alive on the May 30th 1431.
Most of the building that can be seen in Rouen were built during the "golden century" Traders from Rouen, in association with the navigators from Dieppe control man trading routes and are very wealthy. This is when were built jewels such as the Cathedral, the Saint Maclou church, etc...

At the end of WW2, in connection to Dday, Rouen was severely hit by collateral domages due to bombing that was aimed to the destruction of all the bridges on the Seine, but that hit too a large part of the town, mostly close to the river. The Cathedrale Notre-Dame, Place du Vieux Marché, Église Saint-Maclou, the Palais de Justice were mostly destroyed. Rebuilding the main places, such as those cited here took merely 50 years and actually if a great deal has been done, there remains still parts still in reconstruction. Buildings of minor interest or too severely destroyed were not reconstructed.
The part of the old core of the city that had minor destruction hes been restored.

Rouen if the city in France where the old core is in the best condition and covers the widest area. It is still a living part of the city, not a preserved area as it can be found elsewhere, cities or part of cities living only for and by tourists.

This is not the case in Rouen. If there were no tourists in Rouen (which would be a shame !), life of the city would not be dramatically changed. Rouen is definitely a must visit, one of the (if not the) place to see what a medieval town looked like.