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At the end September (even though we have just been to France at the end of August), we felt the need of going away for a long weekend so we decided Northern France is the easiest trip abroad. Even though we have visited France every year in the past decade (sometimes even more often) we have never been to visit Giverny and the home of Claude Monet. Visiting his famous home and garden has been on my travel wish list for a long time! So I was really excited to stay nearby and because it was only about an hour drive from our hotel, I convinced the kiddos and off we went.
About Monet’s House and Garden
Claude Monet, probably one of the most recognised painter and founder of Impressionism lived for forty-three years in this house in Giverny, from 1883 to 1926. He was a keen gardener and loved the colours of nature, it was his greatest source of inspiration In his house, you can find several art works of Monet’s but it’s more famous about displaying his personal items as it was. It’s his private world, the home where he and his family of 8 children lived. You can find the famous pond and green garden bridge here, a subject of many of his water lily paintings, water lilies that occupied him continually 20 years of his life, being his last and “most ambitious” sequence of paintings.
Is Monet’s House and Garden Popular With Tourists?
The first thing about to know Giverny and Monet’s House that it’s VERY VERY VERY popular with tourists. People are coming here for all over the world wanting to experience the garden and the house, art enthusiasts, fans, etc. It’s a major attraction.
What is the Best time to Visit Monet’s House and Garden?
High visitor numbers are practically true for most of the year when the museum is open, but especially early autumn, when the weather is balmy, the flowers are still in full bloom and everything is lush green. We hit the sweet spot there. It was busy but not overly busy. However, it was impossible to take photos without strangers in them. You just got to edit them out.
Do You Need to Buy Tickets in Advance for Monet’s House and Garden?
We didn’t. We have visited on a beautiful sunny day at the end of September and we just bought the tickets there.
According to their website, online booking is highly recommended, though. I don’t know if we were lucky with that day, maybe?
Open from April 1st to November 1st, every day from 10am to 6pm. Last admission at 5.30pm.
How Much the Tickets Cost?
How far is Monet’s House and Garden from Paris?
Driving takes an hour and half, depending what part of Paris you are travelling from.
Is There a Direct Train from Paris to Giverny?
It’s an easy train ride, it takes the direct trains f rom Paris Saint-Lazare station to Vernon-Giverny (this is the nearest train station, located in the next town, Vernon, about 3 miles or 5 km from Giverny) take about 45 to 60 minutes and then you need to catch a shuttle to the museum, which is about 15 minutes.
How Much Time Do You Need at Monet’s House and Garden?
Recommended visit duration is 1h30 to 2 hours, and we did indeed spent two hours there, although I could have stayed a little bit longer, looking at every little detail.
What Were My Favourite Things To See in Monet’s House and Garden?
The Yellow Dining Room and Blue Kitchen
The house’s dining room has been recreated down to the last detail. I loved seeing it in its original, gorgeous sun-yellow colour with Japanese art covering the walls and a Japanese cat ceramic figure of a life-size cat sitting on a top of a cabinet. The yellow-painted furniture was very modern for its time. In the display cabinets, you can see the blue ceramic tableware and the yellow and blue set, which Monet had had made for celebrations.
In the blue kitchen, there are the famous, blue Rouen tiles, the huge cooker with multiple hobs and the copper utensils. As if the house was still used by the Monet family. It’s strikingly beautiful and colourful and yet very homey. The huge multi-hob iron stove was also a very modern domestic utility and design for Monet’s era that only the wealthy could afford.
The house was a 19th-century cider-press house (Le Pressoir), which Monet and his family turned into their home, expanding, modernising and constructing something all the time.
The View from the Windows of the House
Honestly, anyone would fall in love with the view from the green window frames overlooking the lush garden. It’s so beautiful. Just imagine standing there on a lush summer day 130 years ago.
The Attention to Details of the Restoration
Monet’s House and Garden was occupied till 1947 by his daughter. After Blanche Monet-Hoschedé died, the house is left largely abandoned and fell into disrepair. It isn’t until 1980, that The Claude Monet Foundation helps to fund the renovations and the house and gardens officially open as a museum.
The attention to detail throughout the house and how it really is painstakingly restored to its best shape is amazing. You could really spend hours just by looking at old switches, textile and silk flowers of Alice (Monet’s second wife).
My advice is for the visit: really take your time to take everything in.
The Garden throughout the Seasons
The garden is amazing in all seasons, but when we visited, it was truly stunning. Autumn must be the most beautiful season to visit Monet’s House and Garden. Everything is planted so it’s seasonally colourful and the fresh plantings are native plants. The yellows, oranges and purples of the autumn collection of garden flowers were so beautiful, the photos don’t even do justice.
The Artwork in the House
There are several artworks placed in the house, mostly Monet’s work naturally, but also some of his friends: Renoir, Cézanne, Signac, and Caillebotte. Some of them are very famous, but it is a mix of well known and lesser known art work.
Are the Paintings in Monet’s House Real?
No, they are reproductions.
Japanese Art in Monet’s House
I also found a Japanese traditional art really modern for his era. He didn’t just loved Japanese art, he had a lifelong fascination with Japanese art, especially ukiyo-e woodblock prints. He had a collection of over 230 prints, featuring masters like Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, and Kitagawa. The Japanese ceramic cat, I mentioned above is also a Japanese art work and it has a history of going missing after Monet’s son’s death in the 1960’s, resurfaced only in 2017 in an auction in Hong-Kong and finally a Japanese art dealer purchased it and donated it back to the Claude Monet Foundation.
The Colours! Colours Everywhere!
I’m not a beige person. I love colours. Bold colours. Fun colours. Bright colours. The house and garden is a fest for the eyes of those loving colours. The famous bright greens of the wooden bridge, the yellow of the dining room, the light blue of the blue lounge, they are still there, restored to their beauty.
The Lily Pond and the Green Bridge
Just imagine having a pond of this size next to your beautiful house and garden. No wonder Monet got obsessed with the beauty of the water lilies and painted them for 20 consecutive years in your last years. Monet was very proud of his Japanese style water garden and he loved to receive his guests there. He had a gardener, who looked after it full time. As you enter water garden, there is a mini bamboo forest too with plank walk-through.
Similarly to the house, there is never a moment when the bridge is photographable without other visitors, so don’t expect to take any family photos with the bridge without other people in it.
