The second most visited monument in Rouen after Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Aître Saint-Maclou offers you a surprising stop in the restored heritage of the city. In the 14th century, the population heavily impacted by the Black Death and the growing number of deceased required the creation of a new cemetery called an aître in medieval times.

This plan B developed to deal with the high mortality rate will nevertheless experience some expansions with three open galleries serving as an ossuary. In the 16th century, the installation of a priest, focused on teaching in one of the wings, will require the site to reconcile a funeral activity and a school activity for more than 120 years. Hello atmosphere!

Completely abandoned in 1790, the cemetery and the school gave way to a boarding school and then the temporary headquarters of the Rouen School of Fine Arts. In this regard, a legend suggests that the mummified and walled-up cat in the aâtre was the result of a hoax carried out by some former students who were supposedly seeking to ward off bad luck according to a common practice in the Middle Ages. True or false, the mystery surrounding the real reasons for this animal in this place still remains…

After extensive restoration work in 2018, involving no fewer than 15 specialized trades, the place, listed as a historic monument in 1862, now hosts cultural and gastronomic structures. Admit that a small meal, within these walls still adorned with macabre sculpted decorations, is not an ordinary experience given to everyone.