Giverny: Monet's Garden Day Trip

Tickets & Visitor Guide to Monet's House and Gardens

⏱ Half day to full day👤 All ages$$$

When Claude Monet settled in the village of Giverny, in Normandy, in 1883, he set about creating gardens that would become as celebrated as his canvases — and indeed became their primary subject. Today his house and gardens are preserved and open to visitors, and a trip here lets you walk through the landscapes that produced some of the most beloved paintings in the world.

There are two gardens. The Clos Normand, in front of the house, is a dense, joyful tapestry of flowers planted in blocks of color, changing through the seasons. Across the road (via a tunnel) lies the water garden, the more famous of the two — Monet diverted a stream to create the lily pond, planted weeping willows and bamboo, and built the green Japanese footbridge draped in wisteria. It's here that he painted the Water Lilies series over and over, chasing the changing light. Monet's house itself, with its bright yellow dining room and blue kitchen and his collection of Japanese prints, is also open to tour.

Most visitors come on a guided day trip from Paris, which handles the transport (Giverny is about 75 km away, reachable by train to Vernon plus a short shuttle, or by coach tour) and often includes skip-the-line entry. Crucially, the gardens are seasonal — open roughly from spring through fall (often April to early November) — and at their most spectacular in late spring and summer when the flowers and lilies bloom; they're closed in winter. It's a half- to full-day trip and a highlight for Impressionism lovers. It pairs thematically with the Musée d'Orsay and the Orangerie's Water Lilies in Paris.