Things to Do in Vernon

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Historically, if there was no legitimate heir to the French crown someone from this family would ascend the throne.

As you ramble on a trail you’ll come face to face with nocturnal and diurnal species like kites, falcons, a Chilean blue eagle, snowy owls and barn owls.

A 40-minute drive north through green countryside and into the Lyons Forest will deliver you to an implausibly cute village.

Yet again you’re following in Monet’s footsteps as he painted the portal of the cathedral repeatedly in 1894. After savouring the renaissance stained glass windows and the tombs of Rollo, the first ruler of Normandy, and Richard the Lionheart you can negotiate the streets around the cathedral.

The city is folded into the valley of the River Iton, and the best walks in the city can be had next to the river as all the main landmarks are nearby.

Recognised as one of the “Notable Gardens of France”, the grounds of the Domaine of Villarceaux sprawl across 70 hectares and are connected to a manor house from the 1500s and a château from the 1700s.

A quick 15 minutes upriver from Vernon is a little village that grew around an elegant château beneath a fearsome-looking defensive tower hewn from a chalk cliff above the Seine.

Ten minutes away, on the opposite side of the Seine, is the house where Claude Monet lived for more than forty years up to his death in 1926. It can be pretty moving to sit down by the lily pond in his garden and know that you’re looking at a scene that inspired a style of painting that had never been seen before.

It’s one of those captivating small town attractions with a bit of everything: There are historical artefacts from around Vernon, taxidermies, a model of Vernon’s old château and a drawing cabinet with vintage graphic art and illustration.

The last remaining vestige of Vernon’s château is the circular former keep, which is in good nick considering it was built in 1123, by Henry Beauclerc, the youngest son of William the Conqueror no less.

You’ll hear about the aristocratic owners and the kings of France welcomed here, like Henry IV and Louis XV. The interior is appropriately lavish, with a gilded harp and harpsichord in the “Grand Salon” and paintings, sculpture, tapestries and period furniture throughout.