Sitting 20km east of Rouen in the north of France, Ry initially seems to be a quiet Normandy village with its fair share of pretty houses. However, this rural idyll inspired a masterpiece of French literature and its history is intrinsically linked with the writer Gustave Flaubert.
The traditional architecture of RyPack-Shot/Shutterstock
A modest village of around 800 residents in Seine-Maritime, Ry takes its name from the Latin for river, and one of its focal points is the River Crevon running through its centre.
Ry was selected to be on the shortlist of France’s favourite villages in 2024, finally coming in at number seven following a public vote. The Mayor, Christophe Hoguet, was delighted with the result and the spotlight that it brought to the village.
Follow in the footsteps of Emma BovaryThomas Boivin
Tragic Delphine Delamare
Celebrated French author Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) was born in nearby Rouen and was apparently inspired by a true story when he wrote his classic novel, Madame Bovary (1857).
Pack-Shot/Shutterstock
He heard of a young housewife from Ry – Delphine Delamare – who had been unfaithful to her doctor husband, taking her own life after her last lover left her, and leaving behind various debts.
Flaubert imagined the circumstances that might have led to the tragic incident, forever forging a link between this village and the story of Emma Bovary.
You’ll find a stone sculpture in the village celebrating Gustave Flaubert and his connection to Ry. A circuit of 10 stops leads you around the village as if following Emma Bovary, past the apothecary and notary’s office.
There are as many as 40 different shops and trades in the centre, including the usual pharmacies, bakeries and supermarkets but also galleries, artists and artisans, a lace-maker and a restaurant.
Several buildings are à colombages, featuring exposed timbers, while others have intricate patterns in their red brickwork.
Historically, Ry prospered as a market town, and the market halls still retain their arched entrance ways, as well as the original hooks where butchers would hang their meat for sale.
Parts of the parish church of Saint-Sulpice date back to the 1100s; it shows two distinct architectural styles from two different periods. Listed for its remarkable heritage value, the unique entrance porch is made from oak, sculpted in a highly decorative design that dates from the 1500s.
The graves of Delphine and Eugène DelamareAntoiner Garnier
Inside, the church roof resembles an upturned boat hull and the beams are adorned with curious figures.
In the 1991 film of Madame Bovary starring Isabelle Huppert, the marriage was filmed in this church – and out in the churchyard, you can see the graves of Delphine and Eugène Delamare, the unfortunate couple whose story inspired the novel.
The Madame Bovary literary trail continues in Lyons-la-Forêt, a neighbouring village that was used as a set for Jean Renoir’s 1934 film and Claude Chabrol’s 1991 version.
There is also a 66-kilometre cycling circuit called Promenade au Pays d’Emma Bovary, leading you through various sites and landscapes associated with the novel, including chapels, the gardens of Château de Martainville-Épreville and the ruins of the mediaeval castle of Blainville-Crevon. You could also head to Flaubert’s birthplace in Rouen, which now houses a museum, Musée Flaubert d’Histoire de la Médecine.
