VIP Tour
In the footsteps of the Impressionists - Auvers-sur-Oise & Giverny
Auvers-sur-Oise
Discover Auvers-sur-Oise home to Van Gogh. See the restaurant and the room where he died, and the places he made famous. Put yourself in his shoes as you follow in the footsteps of the Impressionists.
Giverny
Claude Monet, leader of the Impressionists, lived in the small village of Giverny, near Vernon, from 1883 until his death in 1926. They have been restored and maintained as they were during his lifetime with the house decorated in its original color schemes. Monet’s home, a pink and green cottage whose entrance is framed by two large yew trees, leads into the visitor’s center, which was his studio. The yellow dining room and the blue country kitchen, with its tiled walls, have an charming intimacy where you can imagine him getting together for large family meals or entertaining his fellow artists.. The house contains reproductions of his works and his collection of 18th-19th century Japanese prints. The huge studio where he painted the famous ‘Water Lilies’ is not far from the house and now houses the Claude Monet Foundation’s shop.
He loved flowers and the magnificent gardens slope gently down to the River Epte. The gardens also comprise the walled garden, planted according to Monet’s own design, and the Water Garden, shaded by weeping willows, with its famous Japanese Bridge, its wisterias, azaleas and its pond with water-lilies
Monet's garden is incredibly beautiful from April to October. Flower varieties bloom one after another so that the garden changes gradually with the seasons while keeping its colors and brightness. The peak period is May-June. In summer you can enjoy the beauty of all the annual flowers and of the famous Nympheas (Water-lilies). In September and October the gardens is a feast of giant flowers of splendid colors.
The house and garden which inspired him were left to the Academie des Beaux Arts in 1966 by his son.
The journey begins with the discovery of the charming village of Auvers
sur Oise where Vincent Van Gogh spent the last 100 days of his life.
He painted approximately 70 works during his time there. To create
the ambiance, on the way from Paris to Auvers, your driver-guide
will provide you with a brief and colourful introduction to Van Gogh’s
life and work.
Upon your arrival in Auvers, you will visit the house of Doctor Gachet, a passionate art collector and dear friend of Van Gogh, “immortalized” by him several times. Following a walk through the main street of the village, one discovers the “Auberge Ravoux”, Van Gogh’s last residence. To round of the visit, there is a stop at the church of Auvers, made famous by Van Gogh’s painting, before driving to the cemetery of Auvers to pay a tribute to Theo and Vincent Van Gogh’s final resting place. On the way from Auvers to Giverny, we stop for lunch (or an organized picnic) at the "Moulin de Fourges", a 150-year-old picturesque watermill.
Before arriving at Giverny, the driver-guide will provide a brief reminiscence of Monet’s life and work, followed by a guided visit of Monet’s house in Giverny, the formal enclosed Norman Garden and the Water Garden with the famous pond and Japanese Bridge. One can stroll through the Museum of American Art before driving back to Paris along the “Route des Crêtes” where the exceptional panorama overlooking the Seine Valley unfolds before us. Clients will discover a watch-tower of the 10th century built at the time of the Viking Invasion, the 12th century château of La Roche Guyon - the headquarters of General Erwin Rommel during World War II - and to conclude the visit, a stop at the village of Vetheuil where Claude Monet lived for 3 years.