About this place
The Gros-Horloge is the most beloved monument in Rouen, a vast golden clock face set into a Renaissance arch that straddles the lively Rue du Gros-Horloge. The dial measures more than two and a half metres across and glows like a sun with twenty four rays on a starry blue ground. It has a single hand tipped with a lamb, a tribute to the wool trade that made the city rich, along with a window showing the phases of the moon and a lower panel naming the day of the week. The iron mechanism inside dates from 1389 and is one of the oldest working clock movements in France. For a century and a half it lived in the adjoining belfry tower before being moved to its spectacular street level arch in 1529. Visitors can still climb the belfry for sweeping views over the rooftops of the old town.
Key facts
- 1389 year — The iron clock movement was built, one of the oldest in France
- 1529 year — The clock was moved to its Renaissance street arch
- 2.5 metres — The diameter of the great golden clock face
📍 Rue du Gros-Horloge 95 bis, 76000, Rouen