Description:

It is estimated that at least 500000 visitors have taken part in one or more events and exhibitions staged by the Festival of Impressionism in Normandy this summer. Laurent Fabius, who was very much involved in this most successful event of the summer which has attracted tourists and visitors from all over the world, has expressed  himself to be very pleased with the event at a recent press conference. There is a possibility that further similar events will be staged.

It is estimated that a third of the visitors were from abroad and two thirds either from Normandy or other regions of France. The most visited exhibition has been that at Rouen’s Musée des Beaux arts; this is the amazing gallery of pictures by three giants of Impressionism, Monet, Pissarro and Gauguin and their paintings of Rouen itself at the end of the 19^th century. There is still time to see these pictures as the exhibition closes on 26 September.

The Festival of Impressionism News and Events items posted on Guide2Normandy testify to the success of this event; more than 1500 visitors have seen these articles; for this correspondent the Giverny element, Impressionism along the Seine was certainly a highlight and the rowing  boat on the Seine by Caillebotte,La Partie du Bateau, a revelation.

It is to be hoped that similar events which attract so much attention to Normandy and its rich cultural and historic heritage can be staged in future years.