Monet and 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. It is only 75 kms. Paris and is closed on Mondays

On the way, introduction to the life and work of Claude Monet.

Stop at the cemetery to visit Monet's tomb.

Guided visit of the Gardens and house of Monet.

Coffee and cake at the café Baudy (the residence of so many American painters, Whistler, Metcalf, Robinson, Sargent, Mary Cassatt as well as Renoir and Cezanne) or Cidre and goat cheese in a farm.

Drive along the Route des Crêtes where you enjoy an exceptional panorama over the Seine valley, you will see a watchtower of the 9th Century built at the time of the Viking's Invasion, the château of La Roche Guyon that became Erwin Rommel's headquarter during World War II, the village of Vetheuil where Monet spent the 3 hardest years of his life (stop at his house), Mantes la Jolie and its 12C gothic cathedral, before reaching the highway back to Paris.