Colombage

Colombage, also known as half-timbering or pans de bois in French,  is a construction style using strong timber foundations and supports, infilled with plaster or masonry such as brick.

Rouen city center

We just got back from Rouen -  one of my favorite places in France. I probably love it because it retains so much of its medieval architecture. Rouen has a significant Gothic church in every second block and narrow, winding streets lined with dozens of buildings that date to the 15th and 16th centuries.  Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen and when you walk those streets it's not too hard to imagine life in 1459.

Rouen passageway