France Guide
Normandy
The castle museums
Within the castle walls, it's possible to visit the former Exchequer – which dates from shortly after the Norman conquest of England, and was the scene of a banquet thrown by Richard the Lionheart en route to the Crusades – and inspect a garden planted with herbs and medicinal plants that were cultivated here during the Middle Ages. Also inside the precinct, though not in original structures, are two museums. Perhaps more interesting is the Musée des Beaux-Arts (daily except Tues 9.30am–6pm; permanent collection free, special exhibitions €3 or €5), which traces a potted history of European art from Renaissance Italy through such Dutch masters as Brueghel the Younger up to grand portraits from eighteenth-century France in the upstairs galleries. Downstairs brings things up to date with some powerful twentieth-century art, though there are few big-name works. The other museum, the Musée de Normandie (June– Sept daily 9.30am–6pm; Oct– March daily except Tues 9.30am–6pm; permanent collection free, special exhibitions €3 or €5), provides a cursory overview of Norman history, ranging from archaeological finds like stone tools from the region's megalithic period and glass jewellery from Gallo-Roman Rouen up to the impact of the Industrial Revolution. It also hosts two or three temporary exhibitions per year, covering particular themes in much greater detail.