Spring Break: Could This City Possibly Have Any More Cathedrals? Part I

Caen, Lower Normandy, France, a city I had never heard of it until I began making my spring break plans. Sometimes it is worth visiting a city that does not make an appearance on the Top Ten Cities You Should Visit Before You Die list. After all, the obscure corners of the world are the ones we remember most. Not that Caen is anywhere near obscure. Walking out of the train station, I was unnaturally happy to see the tram, or any public transportation, for that matter. Two days in Bayeux had made me hungry for city life.


I spent my single full day in Caen walking through the old streets, exploring the castle, and constantly running into cathedrals and churches--not literally. Caen is a purely medieval town, with the occasional H&M or McDonald's. A massive castle wall surrounds the hill that rises slightly above the city. The paths and various levels of the wall provide a slew of beautiful city views. Within the castle walls is a complex of museums and gardens. I visited the Museum of Normandy but largely remained outside, climbing the castle walls and gulping in the city, which, despite the day's gray weather, really was a sight for sore eyes (and a sight for eyes that were eager to see anything but Bayeux).




After my leisurely tour around William the Conqueror's stately castle property, I ventured towards the women's abbey, orientating myself by following the abbey's gothic towers. I found myself traversing narrow, cobblestone streets lined with gray-brown stone buildings with white shutters.

Not to sound boring, but after I got to the women's abbey and took some pictures, I headed to the other side of town to see the Hôtel de Ville and the men's abbey. On the way, I ran into some more cathedrals, resting nonchalantly on huge city blocks. Coming from Spain, I am accustomed to one cathedral and maybe a monastery or two in every small city. Caen is apparently a different story: