Top Historic Sights in Vernon, France
Explore the historic highlights of Vernon
The Old Mill of Vernon
The old mill of Vernon, a half-timbered construction, lies straddling two piers of the ancient bridge over the Seine River. Several mills like this one used to be operating on the river all along the old wooden bridge. This bridge itself was built in the 12th century, the mill is probably in the 16th century. The old bridge has been destroyed and rebuilt several times in the middle age. It was very unsafe and was definiti ...Tour des Archives
The Tour des Archives is the keep of a former castle. Its origin goes back to 1123, built by King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror. It is 22m high and is a rare existing example of a round tower in Normandy, like the so-called tour Jeanne d"Arc (Joan of Arc Tower) of the former Rouen Castle. The Tour des Archives has been classified since 1840 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Cul ...Château des Tourelles
The Château des Tourelles was built originally in 1196, when Philippe Auguste (Philip II of France), fighting against the king of England, Richard the Lionheart, for possession of Normandy, seized Vernon and made the town a military base. The castle consists of a square tower surounded by four round turrets, the whole edifice rising to a height of twenty metres. It is one of the few castles in France which has been ...Collegiate Church Notre-Dame
The Notre Dame Church Collegiate is considered one of the most beautiful examples of medieval architecture in France. Built between the 11th and 16th century, the collegiate contains different architectural styles. Where the altar and the transept are Romanesque style, the rest of the building was rebuilt in three different Gothic (namely Early, Flamboyant and Perpendicular Gothic) styles. The organs date back to the begi ...Château de Bizy
Château de Bizy was built first in 1675 by Michel-André Jubert de Bouville and reconstructed in 1740 by Coutant d"Ivry. He redesigned the castle in a classical style inspired by Versailles. Bizy has had notable owners, including Louis XV, the Duke of Penthièvre and Louis-Philippe. In the castle, the rooms are decorated with beautiful Regency woodwork and house mementoes from the Bonaparte family, ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Monet's Garden
Claude Monet lived for forty-three years, from 1883 to 1926, in Giverny. With a passion for gardening as well as for colours, he conceived both his flower garden and water garden as true works of art. Walking through his house and gardens, visitors can still feel the atmosphere which reigned at the home of the Master of Impressionnism and marvel at the floral compositions and nymphéas, his greatest sources of inspiration.
In 1890 Monet had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint. Some of his most famous paintings were of his garden in Giverny, famous for its rectangular Clos normand, with archways of climbing plants entwined around colored shrubs, and the water garden, formed by a tributary to the Epte, with the Japanese bridge, the pond with the water lilies, the wisterias and the azaleas.
Today the Monet's Garden is open to the public.