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Unusual experiences to enjoy this winter! !

Around Rouen, Normandie Caux Vexin elevates the art of living with 11 unusual experiences to enjoy this winter!

1 – The most cutting-edge: the Anatole Jakovsky Collection – La Sirène

The Anatole Jakovsky Collection is housed at the La Sirène Museum in Blainville-Crevon, Normandy. It brings together a remarkable ensemble of naïve art, folk art and outsider art, assembled by Anatole Jakovsky, a major 20th-century art critic and collector.
The collection includes around 250 paintings and drawings, featuring emblematic naïve artists such as Camille Bombois, André Bauchant, Louis Vivin and René Rimbert, alongside many lesser-known self-taught creators.
These works are complemented by unusual objects (vintage postcards, pipes, popular imagery and everyday items), forming a true cabinet of curiosities.
The collection reflects Jakovsky’s taste for free, poetic and marginal forms of expression, making La Sirène a unique cultural venue in Normandy, dedicated to naïve art and artistic expressions outside academic circuits.
Open every Thursday afternoon; group visits available by appointment on other days.

2 – The wildest: ABV Brocante

ABV Brocante is a must-see vintage shop and flea market in Normandy, located in Bosc-le-Hard, near Rouen. This immersive space of over 350 m² is designed as an Ali Baba’s cave filled with retro objects, vintage design, antique furniture and collectible pieces.
Visitors discover a vast selection of period objects, industrial lighting, furniture from the 1950s to the 1990s, vintage toys, posters, vinyl records and cultural memorabilia.
Every corner of the shop is carefully staged, with themed atmospheres ranging from retrogaming to pop-culture décor, making the visit as much an exploration as a shopping experience.
Located in the countryside, the shop welcomes 40,000 visitors per year and is followed by just as many fans on Instagram.
ABV Brocante has become a favourite address for collectors and retro enthusiasts, with regularly renewed and often rare items—perfect for finding decorative or collectible treasures.
Open 7 days a week, including Sundays and public holidays, it also offers a small relaxation area where visitors can enjoy a coffee before continuing their visit.
At the moment, the décor recreates the eerie universe of “Stranger Things” for fans of the Netflix series.

3 – The gentlest: Clay modelling at “le Jardin des sculptures”

Facing a live model and guided by sculptor Jean-Marc de Pas, learn how to shape clay and bring it to life.
This experience takes place one weekend per month, with the next session on January 17 and 18. Participants may attend for just one day if they wish.
The workshop includes access to the Sculpture Garden and its collections.

4 – The most creative: Floral art with Atelier Boui-Boui

Learn how to decorate or create charming, poetic objects using dried flowers with Atelier Boui-Boui.

5 – The most refined: Dining in the dark at Le Clos de la Vaupalière

Le Clos Rouen La Vaupalière regularly organises dinners in the dark (next session on January 23).
Enjoy a gastronomic meal as a couple or with friends, completely immersed in darkness.
A unique sensory experience, featuring homemade dishes, where you must rely on your four other senses to guess the ingredients.

6 – The most indulgent: Cooking workshops with La Forêt des Macarons

Become a true pastry chef and learn, with family or friends, how to make king cakes, macarons, cupcakes, number cakes, Paris-Brest, biscuits, pastries and fruit jellies.

7 – The most festive: Le Bistrot du Tendos

Every Friday and Saturday, Le Bistrot du Tendos invites you to laugh, dance and sing while enjoying comforting, home-style cuisine in an ultra-friendly atmosphere.

8 – The most exotic: L’Express Voiture Salon No. 14530

Board the Orient Express without leaving Normandy thanks to L’Express Voiture Salon No. 14530 in Sierville.
This authentic train carriage has been transformed into an ultra-comfortable holiday cottage, offering a stay that feels like a journey between Rouen and the sea.

9 – The most vertiginous: Domaine de Fontaine-Châtel

Treehouses perched high among the branches, close to the elements (including snow in winter), open and heated all year round, in a forest of century-old beech trees.
Meals and breakfasts are hoisted up into the trees. This playful and inspiring setting offers total disconnection, allowing guests to reconnect with what truly matters.

10 – The most romantic: Le Colombier d’Yville

This former brick dovecote overlooks the Héronchelles Valley and promises a cosy stay by the wood stove.
Located just minutes from the Sculpture Garden, La Sirène Museum and Martainville Castle, it is also the perfect starting point for exploring Rouen.

11 – The most relaxing: The Forgeshotel Spa

Two hotels, two restaurants, a cosy bar, a casino—and above all, a spa dedicated to pure relaxation, thanks to the expert hands of its masseuses and beauticians.
Swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and hammam provide a complete wellness experience, especially welcome during the winter months.
Open 7 days a week; Saturdays are reserved for hotel guests.