Pont Gustave-Flaubert

Tall vertical-lift bridge marking Rouen's modern Seine waterfront

Pont Gustave-Flaubert is Rouen's most conspicuously modern bridge, a vertical-lift crossing whose pylons rise above the western Seine quays. Opened in 2008, it was built to let tall ships and cruise vessels reach the central riverfront while taking road traffic away from older bridges upstream.

It is more impressive as urban engineering than as a romantic stroll, but the bridge is worth noticing if you are walking the redeveloped quays or visiting during the Armada. When the lift span rises, Rouen briefly looks like a working port city again rather than only a medieval one.

things to do sight architecture