Former Finance Office

The former Hôtel des Finances, in Rouen

The former Hôtel des Finances is a fine Renaissance building that faces the cathedral of Rouen. The Rouen audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this architectural jewel, a former finance office, which today shelters the tourist office.

The Renaissance jewel facing the cathedral

On the Place de la Cathédrale, where the gaze is caught by the flamboyant façade of Notre-Dame, is hidden another gem: the former Hôtel des Finances, which faces the sanctuary. This elegant building was built in the sixteenth century to shelter the finance office of the généralité of Rouen, the administration in charge of the taxes and the financial affairs of the region. Of Renaissance style, its façade is richly adorned with sculptures, pilasters and refined motifs, testifying to the taste and the prosperity of the era, and illustrating the passage from flamboyant Gothic to the art of the Renaissance. Restored with care, the building today shelters the tourist office of Rouen, welcoming the visitors in the heart of the historic town. A witness of the civil architecture of the Renaissance and the administrative history of Rouen, the former Hôtel des Finances is a fine stop of the discovery of the town.

What to see

You admire the fine sixteenth-century Renaissance building facing the cathedral, a former finance office with a façade richly adorned with sculptures, pilasters and refined motifs, illustrating the passage from flamboyant Gothic to the Renaissance, which today shelters the tourist office. The former Hôtel des Finances is a jewel of Rouen. It is a stop to be discovered, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The former Hôtel des Finances lies on the Place de la Cathédrale, facing Notre-Dame, in the heart of Rouen, reachable on foot. You admire its façade freely; the building sheltering the tourist office, its access follows the hours of the latter, which vary. It is best to check them before coming.

What does the former Hôtel des Finances of Rouen shelter?

Today the tourist office of Rouen; this sixteenth-century Renaissance building, with a richly sculpted façade, was built to shelter the finance office of the region and faces the cathedral.

Where is the former Hôtel des Finances of Rouen?

On the Place de la Cathédrale, facing Notre-Dame, in the heart of Rouen, in France.