"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." – Mary Oliver

A Day Trip to Monet’s Garden

While in Paris I did a day trip to Monet’s Garden in Giverny by train. I waited to see what the weather was going to be like before making the final decision to go on Monday. I booked the tickets to Monet’s Garden online and used the SNCF app to book train tickets.

I caught the 8:14 am train from Saint Lazare, arriving in Vernon at 9:04 am. Once off the train, I followed the crowd to the bus that goes to Giverny. It costs EUR 5 one way. With the time taken to load everyone on the bus, drive to Giverny, and then walk to the gardens from the carpark, I finally entered the gardens at 9:50 am. A number of tour groups arrived first thing in the morning, and the car park already had a lot of cars. Online tickets enter through the same gate as the group tours, which is right at the bottom of the main garden, so you either turn right for the water garden or left for the house.

I turned right. Many people were already there, but probably nowhere near the number in summer. You could walk around reasonably easily, with just a short wait for the most desirable photo points.

The Japanese bridge was just as I imagined it. Although the waterlilies were no longer flowering, there were some beautiful Japanese maples with bright red leaves and plenty of other plants in flower in the gardens.

Once I had done a slow circuit, I went to the main garden. The nasturtiums were in full rambling mode, and there was a stunning array of dahlias. Many of the flowers were new to me as well. Monet considered his gardening to be painting with flowers and the gardeners today continue that with a beautiful combination of colour and form in the beds. The style is rambling cottage and different sections are “painted” in different colours. I was especially drawn to the orange/yellow/red areas that were particularly spectacular at this time of year.

Eventually I found myself at the house and joined the queue to enter. The wait was short, and it was not very crowded once we got inside. The flow of traffic is one way. I loved all the colours inside, especially the yellow dining room and blue kitchen.

Once back outside I headed back to the water garden for another wander. It felt like there were less people there this time and it was good to go back for another round. It’s a long way to come so I was making the most of my time there. The exit is back though the main garden so I had another wander through there before leaving about 11:30 am.

Just down the road is the Impressionist museum. It had an interesting exhibition of a Japanese painter,Hiramatsu Reiji, who was heavily influenced by Monet. It was not a large exhibition so didn’t take long to visit. The garden there is beautiful too, with gardens separated with hedges and each one featuring a different colour.

Giverny is gorgeous. My friend who visited later in the week wondered whether homeowners must sign an agreement to maintain a certain amount of “cuteness.” It is all very picturesque. I stopped and got some lunch. A menu that included a baguette, drink and tart which was all good. Once refuelled and hydrated, I set off along the bike/walking path to Vernon. It was a very pleasant walk. Once I was almost there, I checked the train timetable and realised that if I walked fairly briskly, I would make the 1:50 pm train, which I decided to do because the next direct train was not until 4:51 pm.

Main Street Giverny
Hotel Baudy, where visiting artists often stayed.
Church Giverny
Path back to Giverny
The Old Mill Vernon. This is on the river as you come into Vernon

The train arrived back at Saint Lazare station at 2:48 pm. Overall, this was an easy day trip by train from Paris.

Are you a fan of Monet? Have you been to his garden?


Comments

14 responses to “A Day Trip to Monet’s Garden”

  1. I have never been, but have seen lots of Monet originals (Musée de l’Orangerie might be my all-time favourite art museum visit; it wasn’t overwhelming like the Louvre)…

    AND NOW I AM ADDING THIS TO MY BUCKET LIST. Because it looks so perfect. The whole experience; the town, the gardens, and the fact it is so accessible from Paris. I’ve also never been to Versailles and that is on my mental list of must-see places as well. Oh and I am also desperate to visit Mont-Saint-Michel. Clearly I need to get myself to France pronto.

    1. L’Orangerie is stunning. I enjoyed just sitting down and feeling like you where in the scene. It is a very easy day trip. So is Versaille and that is also worth seeing. I would love to visit Mont-Saint-Michel. I hope to some day do a bit of roadtrip through Normandy and Brittany.

  2. Wow, These photos are beautiful. I’ve never been and was unaware that this was a place to visit. I would love to get there. Maybe some day. I had a framed copy of The Artist’s Garden at Giverny in my college dorm room. It’s in my older girls’ room now. I feel sort of silly admitting that I wasn’t aware that this was a real garden that tourists could visit, but at the risk of being silly – that’s the truth. I didn’t remember the name of the painting until I googled it just now. I’ll have to encourage Mini to visit there when she studies abroad next semester.

    This reminds me of Butchart Garden, a beautiful garden that we visited while in Vancouver a few years ago. We almost missed our ferry back. We opted to eat a meal there and when we realized we’d messed up the bus back to the ferry schedule, we shoveled in our food like it was our last meal. I’m glad you made your train.

    1. Maybe one day you can visit Giverny.

  3. Oh, how lovely you got to go. Me and mine went back in 2012 when we did 10 days in Paris and France. My previous visit was in the 80s, so it was a delight to see that really not much had changed in all that time. The whole area is like a time capsule, locked in place. And yes, the gardens are exceptional. I remember taking literally hundreds of photos.

    Side note: I live in Quebec City, and as a homage to Monet here, in my local park, they recreated the lily pond and bridge.

    1. It is like a time capsule. The houses are so gorgeous in the village and the pond is stunning. The reflections are beautiful.

      1. I’m yearning now to do another trip to France.

  4. This looks so wonderful. I knew he had a garden but that looks exactly like his paintings. How beautiful. Thank you for taking us a longe.

    1. It is so beautiful.

  5. You know what!? I have been to Paris a handful of time and have never been to Giverny! What is wrong with me? Oh well, it is just another reason to go back! It looks wonderful and I bet it was nice not to be there at the height of the tourist season, even if some of the water lilies were not at their peak. I also have not been to Versailles; did you go there and if so, did you like it? I have heard that it is overrated by some!

    Also, a quick side note, I checked and in China it is considered rude to eat with your left hand OR to not have both hands on the table! So now we know! I wonder if I already committed a faux pas when I was there (I did eat with my R hand but am not sure what the other one was doing!)

    1. I went to Versailles on my first trip to Paris. We did the KIng’s apartment tour which was fabulous. I highly recommend. It definately added to our experience. I really loved the gardens and the Trainon. It is certainly worth seeing.

      I did bring up the left handed thing when I was in China, I mean it’s impossible for me to do chopsticks with my right-hand. They actually said no one in China is left-handed. I’m not sure whether that’s because they are stopped from being left-handed, but I guess it is possible they don’t have the genes for it.

  6. […] Day trip to Monet’s Garden […]

  7. I have been to Monet’s Gardens twice now, and both times it was much more crowded than your pictures show. The first time I went was in early June, the second time was mid-late September. The September trip looks a lot like yours, with the flowers growing over the path like that. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing your pictures and bringing back wonderful memories.

    1. I have some other photos that do show more of the crowd, but you could find quiet spots in the garden so I think it was probably one of the lower crowd days.

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