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Visiting Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny France is a spectacular day trip from Paris. These 7 best things to do in Giverny France will make your trip unforgettable.
Claude Monet, the famous Impressionist artist, lived in Giverny France from 1883 until his death in 1926. Monet’s flower garden called the “Clos Normand,” the tranquil water garden, and his famous Japanese bridge were sources of inspiration for many of his masterpieces. Years later, a walk through Claude Monet’s garden in France continues to be a magical and immersive experience.
Here is how to take a trip to Claude Monet’s garden and home in Giverny France.
Giverny France: FAQ
Here are the most frequently asked questions about Giverny France:
1. Where Is Giverny France?
Giverny is found in the region of Normandy, France. Claude Monet was apparently passing by on a train and was struck by the natural beauty of the landscape. The rest is history…
Read More: 19 Wonderful Things To Do in Normandy France
2. How Far Is Giverny From Paris?
Giverny France is 75 km (47 miles) northwest of Paris, making it the perfect distance for a day trip.
2. Is Giverny Worth Visiting?
Giverny France attracts all kinds of visitors. People come from far and wide to see where the famous Impressionist painter lived and created his stunning masterpieces. Gardeners and people who enjoy seeing beautiful and peaceful flower gardens also flock to Giverny. There is also the tiny town along the main road, rue Claude Monet, that is delightful to explore.
4. How To Get To Monet’s Garden In Giverny France
By Train From Paris To Giverny France
From Paris, take the train from Gare Saint Lazare to Gare de Vernon, which is 6.5km (4 miles) from Giverny France. It is a 55-minute train journey on a direct trip. Check schedules here.
Pro Travel Tip: All trains heading to Normandy leave from Gare Saint Lazare.
Shuttle From Gare De Vernon To Monet’s Garden
The shuttle leaves the train station, Gare de Vernon, 15 minutes after the train’s arrival. Buy your ticket onboard. Here is the schedule. Click on “Navette Giverny” for a look at the times.
If you are going to Monet’s garden in the afternoon, note the shuttle’s final return time from Giverny back to the train station.
Cost: 10€ return
Cycle To Monet’s Garden At Giverny France
Directly across from the train station, Gare de Vernon, are bicycle rental shops. You are in the gorgeous countryside of Normandy and the 6.5 km ride to Giverny might be just what you are looking for.
Organized Tours To Giverny France: This half-day tour and skip the line is a good option as is this small group tour. Monet’s garden bike tour from Paris is a popular tour.
If you want to combine a day trip to Monet’s garden these tours will be of interest: Giverny and Versailles combined tour, Monet’s garden and Van Gogh’s room in Auvers, or a trip that combines Giverny and Rouen.
Read More: How To Visit the D-Day Beaches in Normandy France
5. Hours and Tickets To Claude Monet’s Garden
Opening Hours in 2023: April 1st to November 1st from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Please note the site is closed during the winter months
Monet’s Garden Tickets: Use the website of the Claude Monet Foundation (Fondation Monet in Giverny) to make your online booking. Tickets are available at the door but it is highly recommended to purchase your tickets in advance. The tickets to Monet’s gardens and home are available for a certain date and time.
Ticket Cost: 11€ per adult to visit Monet’s gardens and house.
Pro Travel Tip: You can purchase a combined ticket to Monet’s garden and home and the musée des impressionnismes.
6. When Is The Best Time To Visit Giverny France?
I visited in August and of course, Monet’s garden was a spectacle of blooms and colour. The Foundation’s website, under “Practical Information,” lists the flowers that are in bloom each month.
The care and love that is put into maintaining Monet’s garden results in every season being a feast for the senses and a veritable artist’s palette as Monet would have planned it.
Giverny France is an extremely popular destination for tourists and artists, so plan a visit in the spring or fall and try to avoid weekends.
7. Where Can I See Claude Monet’s Artwork In Paris?
Find Claude Monet’s Water Lilies and other masterpieces in Paris at the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Musée Marmottan-Monet.
7 Best Things To Do In Giverny France
1. See Spectacular Water Lilies In Monet’s Garden
“It took me time to understand my water lilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them.”
Claude Monet
Observing the water lily ponds is one of the top things to do in Giverny France. Claude Monet’s garden reflects his love of nature and his fascination with Japanese culture and art. He created his Asian-inspired garden to include water lily ponds, bamboo, ginkgo trees, and Japanese peonies.
Monet’s garden saw the addition of a Japanese-style footbridge in 1899. This Japanese bridge appears in 17 of Claude Monet’s paintings and is still there today.
The natural beauty and serenity found in Claude Monet’s garden are portrayed in his 250 oil canvases of Les Nymphéas (Water Lilies).
As a gift to France at the end of WWI, Claude Monet offered a “monument to Peace” in the form of enormous water lily paintings. These gigantic Les Nymphéas hang in two oval rooms in the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.
Monet’s Water Lilies canvasses were created in the last thirty years of his life. They hang in museums all over the world, emanating a sense of calm and immersing the observer in nature through his magical use of light and portrayal of water and reflection.
Read More: Another artist completely inspired by the landscapes of France was Vincent Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise. Here is a fabulous list of other day trips from Paris.
2. Be Impressed By A Riot Of Colour At Le Clos Normand
Claude Monet’s “Clos Normand” garden is made of rectangular garden beds where flowers of singular colour bloom in unison. It is remarkable to glance across the expansive garden at the riot of colour.
Oriental poppies, peonies, and roses bloom amongst cherry and Japanese apricot trees. Claude Monet’s garden is a veritable artist’s palette.
Read More: Honfleur, France: An Authentic Taste of Normandy
3. Tour Monet’s Home In Giverny France
Monet’s garden is a highlight of the visit. An equally inspiring and interesting thing to do in Giverny is to stroll through Monet’s sprawling pink house where he lived for over 40 years with his companion, Alice Hoschede.
Canvasses line the walls of the salon and the kitchen is magnificent, lined in blue tiles from Rouen.
The yellow dining room holds gorgeous blue and white earthenware and a collection of Japanese prints. Can you imagine Monet and his friends gathering around the table in this cheerful room?
Read More: Visiting Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy
4. Find The Haystacks & Apple Trees In Monet’s Garden
Away from all the flowers in Monet’s garden is a golden field of apple trees, weighed down by their bounty, and golden mounds of haystacks.
The haystacks themselves are eye-catching. Whoever sees hay bales like this anymore? Stepping into this field is like stepping into a portal. Straight back to 1890-1891 when Claude Monet painted 30 paintings of haystacks entitled, The Stacks at Giverny or the original French name, Les Meules à Giverny.
In his series of haystack paintings, Monet was compelled to capture the nuances of light at different times of the day and throughout the seasons. The results, of course, are magnificent.
The largest collections of Monet’s Les Meules à Giverny can be found in the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée Marmottan-Monet.
Read More: The Magnificent Soaring Cliffs of Etretat
5. Visit The Museum Of Impressionism Giverny France
The Musée Giverny impressionnismes, dedicated to Impressionism, is another one of the top things to do in Giverny France.
There are two kinds of exhibitions at the Musée des impressionnismes, temporary ones and the permanent collection entitled “On Claude Monet.” The permanent exhibition examines Monet’s influence on his contemporaries and future generations of artists in France and abroad.
Japanese artist Reiji Hiramatsu visited Monet’s garden at Giverny France in 1994 and became inspired by Claude Monet. A selection of his stunning reinterpretations of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies is displayed at the museum.
Pro Travel Tip: Tickets are available at the door and online. Free entrance on the first Sunday of the month, except July, August, and September.
Read More: How To Spend the Perfect Day in Bayeux France
6. Pop Into Restaurants And Galleries In Giverny France
The little village of Giverny France is a delight to wander through. Full of galleries, gift shops, and restaurants it is the perfect place to flâner. Stop for a drink or meal at Restaurant Baudy where artists like Cézanne and Renoir used to gather. Le Jardin des Plumes offers a chance to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant on this perfect day trip from Paris to Giverny France! Or simply stop and enjoy a galette in the garden at La Capucine-Bistrot and Cantine.
Read More: How To Eat Oysters Like The French
7. Don’t Miss The Church Saint-Radegonde In Giverny France
The village Church of Saint-Radegonde is at the end of the main road, rue Claude Monet, that runs through Giverny France. A historic monument, the Church of Saint-Radegonde is Roman in style and has an ancient part that dates back to the 11th century. This is Claude Monet’s beautiful final resting place.
I hope you love these 7 things to do in Giverny France as much as I did!
Until next time,
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