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Monet immortalized the capital of Upper Normandy, known as the City of a Hundred Spires, with his Cath?drales de Rouen series in which he rendered the city's Gothic masterpiece, Cath?drale de-Notre-Dame, in his trademark misty fashion. Home to several universities, including the School of Art and Architecture, Rouen has a lively student and arts community and museums for every taste. Rouen's most famous novelist, Gustave Flaubert, is the subject of the Mus?e Flaubert et de l'Histoire de la M?dicine. Flaubert's father was chief surgeon at the medical school here, living with his family within the hospital. Due to considerable bombardment during the Second World War, Rouen is a blend of the ancient and the modern. After the war, the city spent enormous sums to restore its medieval quarters and transform them into lively pedestrian precincts; today, many of the half-timbered houses contain some of the city's most fashionable boutiques and cafes. Giverny, where Monet lived from 1883 until his death in 1926, is just a short drive from Rouen; travelers may visit the artist's home and garden, with his famous lily pond. The Normandy province, home to Camembert and Calvados, is one of the country's finest gastronomic regions. Its rolling countryside, scattered with castles, churches and monuments, testifies to the region's role as a pawn between France and England. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen in 1431, signaling a turning point in the Hundred Years' War, the last major medieval conflict between the French and the English. Normandy's 375 miles of coastline bordering the English Channel boasts four major ports, seafaring coastal towns and picturesque fishing villages. Wanderers will find the region's wild, granite cliffs, wooded valleys and lush green meadows intoxicating.