Question 1

Les Andelys on Your Own

Accepted Answer

The castle is the reason to come, and the rest of the town fits around it on foot. A simple plan is the climb to Château Gaillard, a walk through Petit Andely along the Seine, and the Poussin museum in Grand Andely if there is time. Château Gaillard: The lower court and outer works are open freely all year. The upper court opens Wednesday to Sunday from spring to early November, with a midday break, and adult entry was €3.50 in 2025. Check before you go. Guided visits in English: A guided tour in English is offered on Saturdays at 11 a.m. in season, when a guide is available. Petit Andely: Walk along the Seine, then up the lanes to the place Saint-Sauveur, where the Gothic church of Saint-Sauveur, finished in the 14th century, stands among half-timbered houses. Grand Andely: The Musée Nicolas-Poussin is at 2 rue Sainte-Clotilde, behind the town hall, and the large collegiate church of Notre-Dame is nearby. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

Les Andelys has no railway station of its own. The nearest stations are Vernon and Gaillon-Aubevoye, both on the line between Paris and Rouen. A greenway along the Seine between Courcelles-sur-Seine and Les Andelys opened in 2025, as part of the La Seine à Vélo cycle route. The avenue de la République is the main street between Petit Andely and Grand Andely.

Question 3

Tipping

Accepted Answer

Service is included in restaurant prices in France, so a tip is neither required nor expected. People who do tip usually just round the bill up, and mostly after outstanding service. France uses the euro.

Question 4

Churches, the Museum and Customs

Accepted Answer

The collegiate church of Notre-Dame in Grand Andely is a big Gothic church with 16th-century stained glass and three paintings by Quentin Varin, the artist who first noticed the young Poussin. The Musée Nicolas-Poussin tells the town's story and owns a painting by Poussin himself. The museum's painting is Coriolanus Entreated by His Family, and its rooms cover local archaeology, the Duke of Penthièvre's hospital collections and Holophane glass from the 1930s and 1940s. In 2025 the museum opened in the afternoons, except on Tuesdays, from late March to early November, and is free on the first Sunday of each month and for visitors under 26. Check the dates before you go. The collegiate church is open to visitors all year, with longer hours in summer, and has a carved organ gallery from 1573. Start every conversation in France with bonjour, or bonsoir in the evening.

Question 5

History

Accepted Answer

Les Andelys was two settlements until 1790: an old town around a monastery founded in the 6th century, and a riverside fishing village that grew at the foot of Richard the Lionheart's castle to house the workers, craftsmen, merchants and innkeepers the building work needed. The castle's fall in 1204 turned Normandy French. A queen's monastery, 511: Queen Clotilde, wife of the Frankish king Clovis I, founded a monastery for girls of noble families on the site of the present collegiate church. Vikings destroyed it in 900. Château Gaillard, 1196 to 1198: Richard the Lionheart, king of England and duke of Normandy, built the castle in about two years to guard the Seine and Rouen against the French king, Philip Augustus. The siege, 1203 to 1204: French armies arrived in September 1203. Hundreds of villagers who had sheltered in the castle were turned out by the garrison and refused passage by the French, and many died of hunger and cold in the ditches. The castle fell on March 6, 1204, and Normandy passed to the French crown that year. A royal prison: The castle later held prisoners including Marguerite of Burgundy and housed the exiled David II of Scotland, and it changed hands in the Hundred Years' War until the French took it for good in 1449. Demolition, 1599 to 1611: Henry IV ordered the castle pulled down, and from 1603 its stone was quarried for two religious houses, until the work ended in 1611. Poussin, 1594: Nicolas Poussin was born near Les Andelys and was first noticed by the painter Quentin Varin while Varin was working in the town. One town, 1790: Grand Andely and Petit Andely were joined into a single commune. A protected ruin, 1862: Château Gaillard was listed as a historic monument. The Second World War: The town was bombed and burned before German troops took it on June 9, 1940, and British forces liberated it on August 31, 1944. To learn more ashore: The Musée Nicolas-Poussin, at 2 rue Sainte-Clotilde, traces the town from prehistory to its 20th-century industry.

Question 6

With Children

Accepted Answer

A real castle with dry moats and a keep makes Les Andelys easy to sell to children, and Château Gaillard offers family visits as well as guided tours. The ruins sit high above the river, so allow for the climb. Younger children: The lower court and outer works are free and open all year, so you can explore at your own pace and turn back when legs are tired. School age: Choose the family visit with your upper-court ticket, and look for the three enclosures separated by dry moats. Teenagers: The siege of 1203 and 1204, and the villagers caught between the two armies, is a story worth reading up on before the visit. For everyone: Under-26s get into the Musée Nicolas-Poussin free.

Question 7

The Saturday Market

Accepted Answer

The weekly market fills the place Nicolas-Poussin in the center of Grand Andely every Saturday morning. Stalls sell fruit and vegetables, bread, cheese, wine, liqueurs, oil, honey, biscuits, meat, fish, flowers and crafts. The tourist office at 2 rue Grande has a small shop.

Les Andelys

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