Miss HappyFeet: Day trip from Paris: Monet’s House and Gardens, Giverny

Monday, December 12, 2016

Day trip from Paris: Monet’s House and Gardens, Giverny

Need a break from the hustle and bustle of Paris? What if I tell you there is a place not far from the city where you can venture into famous paintings and actually BE a part of the paintings? Impressionist painter Claude Monet would be delighted to welcome you to the place he appreciated the most— his house and his lovely gardens.

About the Location

Giverny is a picturesque village west of Paris, in Normandy province. The famous French impressionist artist, Claude Monet called Giverny home from 1883 until his death in 1926.
All those years he had been expanding his gardens and house until it took the form of the property we see today. After a 10-years restoration, the house and gardens of Monet were finally opened to the public in 1980.
People usually come here to experience the sensational gardens Monet loved to paint, however, don’t overlook the village where you’ll find a medieval church.

Monet's House, Exterior

Getting there

We Started our journey from the Gare Saint-Lazare (Paris), boarding the “Rouen line” SNCF train. The train reached “Vernon” station in 45 minutes. From there, we exit the train station, cross the road and take the "T. V. S." shuttle bus from there. A round trip cost 8€ and it sent us directly to the Giverny main parking lot in 15 minutes.

Giverny bus

Interesting fact:
Monet actually painted Gare Saint-Lazare too! Go to Musee d’Orsay and see for yourself!
Address:
84 rue Claude Monet, Giverny 27620 France

Tickets

I recommend purchasing advance tickets online from (March to November) in order to skip the line at the entrance. There is student price (only 5€! ) so be sure to ask for it! Kids under 7 visit for free. Looking at the line... I am glad that we went early.

Giverny, Monet Gardens entrance

Interesting fact:
Giverny welcomes 500,000 visitors each year.

Highlight

1. Monet's Pink Home
Monet lived her with his second wive, Alice Hoschede along with 8 children. Many windows from the top floor open to a spectacular view of the garden, where Monet found his never-ending inspiration.
We took a self-guided tour and in fact, there was always someone around to answer our questions. My favorite part of the house was Monet’s studio. It is spacious, airy and tastefully furnished, complete with a number of replicas of his masterpieces. The kitchen is another impressive area, decorated with blue and white tiles the way my mom will love. And, not to forget, there are a lot of Japanese prints around… quite odd to find in a French’s home.
Note:
Expect a queue outside the house during high season!

Monet's house, pink and green

Monet's Studio

Monet's kitchen

2. Gardens
Explore the garden ground where you’ll find yourself surrounded by climbing roses, hydrangea, daffodils, lavender, marigolds,irises, and others. There are 2 sections of the garden. We first walked through the Clos Normand in the delightful scent of Lavender following a well-laid out tourist path, before arriving at the Water Garden through an underground tunnel.
You should definitely photograph the famous nymphéas (the stars of Monet’s paintings) in the water lily pond from the Japanese bridge, look for the row boats resting peacefully on the water, and head to the bamboo grove. The archway of climbing roses leading to his house was another highlight during our visit. It was simply stunning, we were in awe!