The Tilting House

Of all the half-timbered houses in Rouen, we bet you haven’t seen one quite like this. Introducing the famous tilting house. Needless to say, its nickname fits it like a glove. You can actually see it tilting! Now, the question is, how did it come to be like this? Let’s unravel the mystery together! The edifice was built back in the 1700s, and believe it or not, it used to be perfectly straight. But then, barely a century later, the city decided to build the Saint-Barthélemy Square. To do that, they had to demolish some buildings, including the one just next door. Without that support, the house before you started to tilt. Crazy, right? From the 1970s until around 2015, people actually lived there! It was a bed and breakfast with an incredible view of the Saint-Maclou church. Today, it’s a private apartment building. They’ve tried to stabilize it, but it’s still leaning. It’s become quite a tourist attraction though and it’s also a favorite among the locals.