ARMADA OF ROUEN. Last festivities for the Rouen Armada. Sunday, June 18, the sailboats officially weigh anchor for the Grand Parade. And to end this 8th edition in style, the Patrouille de France will fly over the Seine. Find all the information of this exceptional day.
[Updated June 16, 2023 at 4:09 p.m.] Sunday June 18 marks the end of the Armada de Rouen 2023. Its ten days of colorful festivities will have attracted millions of visitors to the city’s port. . Starting at 8 a.m., the Grand Parade will celebrate the end of this 8th edition with great fanfare all day long. It is also the most anticipated moment of the Armada, although imbued with a good dose of nostalgia and emotion. This year again, nearly a million people are expected to pay their last respects to the sublime sailboats. At the same time, the Patrouille de France will fly over the Seine around 11:40 a.m. to put an end to the Armada de Rouen 2023.
To enjoy the spectacle of this exceptional parade along the 120 km of the Seine to Le Havre, several places are recommended. In the Eure, the towns of Aizier, Caumont, or the unmissable panorama of Barneville-sur-Mer will be preferred. In Calvados, the coast of Honfleur and the towns between La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur and Pennedepie will have favor. In Seine-Maritime, La Bouille offers an ideal view of the Seine. Finally, Le Havre beach is not recommended, as it is too far away to have an unobstructed view of the Grande Parade. Discover the program of this last great day of celebration.
The 2023 edition of the Rouen Armada is placed under the sponsorship of the writer Michel Bussi. It is intended to be “a new invitation to discover ships steeped in history in a spirit of maritime celebration”. Here are the program highlights:
In total, around fifty ships are present at the 2023 edition of the Rouen Armada, along the 7 kilometers of quays, offering a unique reception area in the world. They can all be visited free of charge from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day:
Discover below the poster of the Armada de Rouen, an internal creation of the Association Armada de la liberté and the hundreds of volunteers who carry the event:
The Rouen Armada has the advantage of being a totally free event for all visitors. Only the food and goodies found on site are chargeable. Be sure to visit the event’s website to discover or rediscover the boats that have already come during the 7 previous editions and join the Rouen Armada on social networks (Facebook and Twitter).
The 8th edition of the Armada de Rouen takes place from Thursday 8 to Sunday 18 June 2023. 6 million visitors are expected on the quays of the port of Rouen for this 8th edition, in order to welcome the most beautiful and largest boats that will have gone up the Seine, from Le Havre to Paris, over 120 kilometres.
The Armada de Rouen is the most important event in the world of the sea which takes place every four to six years in Rouen. The idea for this event on the quays of Rouen was born in 1983. Two years later, the association “Les voiles de la liberté” was born by creating, in 1986, the famous “Course de la Liberté Rouen-New York”. In 1994, the first Armada was created (“Armada of freedom”) and will be followed 5 years later by “The armada of the century”. Finally, the first “Armada de Rouen” was born in 1989. It welcomed that year, for its first edition, 9 million people. Coming from the distant ports of the Baltic Sea, the Polar Seas or the Caribbean, the sailboats of the Armada are among the most beautiful in the world.
