WHEN lovers of France think of Normandy, they picture apple orchards and meadows dotted with castles and Mont-Saint-Michel.

Mentioning the River Seine to them is more likely to conjure up images of Paris than of the region around the English Channel. But the Seine is also one of Normandy's tourist magnets, and this year in particular.

From July 5 to 14, the city of Rouen, on the Seine about 120 km from the English Channel, will host Armada 2008, the world's largest windjammer parade.

In the photograph: The river Seine, flowing through Paris