Going to Monet’s Home in Giverny Easy Day Trip From Paris

Going to Monet’s home in Giverny, France is an easy day trip from Paris.

Monet Bridge in Giverny

Monet’s Water Lilies are one of the most recognizable pieces of art known the world over.

The impressionist painter lived and worked in an environment he built for this purpose. Many flock to the Orangerie Museum in Paris where these monumental paintings reside. However, fewer people take the less traveled road to Monet’s home in Giverny, France.

Mother Daughter Trip to Monet’s Giverny

Both my daughter and I are art aficionados — I took Art History in college and my daughter has a minor in Art History. In October of 2015, I went to visit my daughter while she was in Paris on a semester abroad. We decided to take a day trip to Monet’s famous home and water lily gardens. It was on my Bucket List! I lived in Europe for five years in the 1980s, and I regret I never made the time to make this specific trip.

Monet Home in Giverny

Going in the fall meant the heat had subsided, and though the gardens were not in full bloom, I couldn’t tell because they are simply magnificent!

Claude Monet’s Garden in Giverny

I wanted to kick myself for not doing this sooner. It’s so easy to get to Giverny from Paris!

Know Before You Go

Train and Tickets. We took the train from the Saint-Lazare train station. Take the train to Vernon, which is in the direction of Rouen (where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake — another worth-while visit for another post) and Le Havre. We paid with a credit card, and then sat down with a delicious coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, and croissant to wait for out train. The ride was less than an hour and the train was super new, fast, and comfortable.

Train From Paris to Giverny

Vernon. After de-training at the train station in Vernon you can take a taxi, a shuttle, or the cute white trolley train to Giverny which is about 20-30 minutes away. We took the cute white trolley, of course! It’s about 12 Euros per person round trip.

Monet Vernon Train Station

Tickets to the Claude Monet House and Gardens. We bought our tickets at the entrance to the house and it was also easy. The cost was about 10-15 Euros each. Walking to the house from where the shuttles drop you off is about 15 minutes. Make sure you’re prepared for all the walking!

Map of Monet Gardens in Giverny

What to See and Do in Giverny

Monet’s home looks well maintained for the amount of foot traffic this famous building gets every year.

Going in the fall meant there were no lines and the rooms were not crowded.

Take your time going through this amazing place where an important part of art history was made. Monet lived here between 1883 to 1926.

After walking through the house, you’ll exit onto the sprawling gardens.

Like every tourist here, we bolted straight to the famous bridge on the pond. It is located in the farthest corner of the gardens, and this is the area where most sightseers will linger. We did too.

I couldn’t believe my eyes were seeing the actual lily pads and foot bridge Monet painted so many years ago.

I was transported to another time, and was in awe of the nature all around me. Monet designed his gardens as his inspiration to paint them.

We stayed here for a couple of hours taking in the views and aromas emanating from the beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs. We sat down on a bench and just soaked it all in.

We walked back to the little town in search of food and coffee.  Giverny has retained its old-world charm. There’s little evidence of modern times which means today’s conveniences aren’t plentiful. We had lunch at a cute buffet style restaurant, and then walked around to see the rest of the town.

After having a nice coffee in the contemporary Musee des Impressionisms’ café, we went to the train station and caught our train back to Paris.

Claude Monet’s Garden in Giverny

I highly recommend this day-trip to Monet’s home in Giverny if you’re in Paris and have the time to leave the City of Light for a few hours.

Bon Voyage!