If you were to look up the “best day trips from Paris,” inevitably one of the top ones that would come up would be a day trip to Giverny.
The village of Giverny, located roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) away from Paris in Normandy, is most famous for being the home of Impressionist painter Claude Monet for more than 40 years. Some of Monet’s most famous works – including his Water Lilies series – were inspired by scenes from his own personal gardens.
Monet lived in Giverny up until his death in 1926, and today his colorful former house and gardens are open to the public as a museum. You only have to see a few photos of this place to understand why Giverny is one of the most popular day trips from Paris.
I finally visited Giverny for myself on my most recent trip to Paris, and want to share everything I learned about planning your own visit there. And while you CAN book a tour to Giverny from Paris, you also can do this trip on your own, which will give you more flexibility to spend longer in those beautiful gardens.
Read on to learn how to do it!
Planning the perfect Giverny day trip
When to visit Giverny
You can visit the village of Giverny any time of year. BUT, it’s important to know that Monet’s House and Gardens are ONLY open to visit from early April through the end of October (opening dates are often April 1-October 31 each year).
If you’re visiting Paris in the winter or early spring, I would not recommend making the day trip to Giverny. (Monet’s House and Gardens are behind a wall, too, so you can’t really see anything without going inside.)
From April to October, the house and gardens are open 7 days a week, and there are always flowers in bloom. But if you want to see specific things in Monet’s gardens, you’ll want to know these rough blooming dates:
- April: Tulips and wisteria (wisteria sometimes in late April)
- May: Wisteria (early May), irises, and rhododendrons
- June: Roses
- July: Water lilies (second half of July)
- August: Water lilies
And as far as days of the week to visit… Monet’s House and Gardens is always busy, but going early on a weekday will be the least crowded time to visit.
Getting tickets for Monet’s House
Monet’s House and Gardens is run by the Fondation Monet, and they are the ones you should buy your tickets from.
You don’t *HAVE* to purchase tickets in advance for Monet’s House and Gardens, but it’s highly, highly recommended. Otherwise, you’ll probably be standing in a ticket line for and hour (or more if you don’t arrive early). And nobody wants to waste that much time!
Once you know the day you’d like to go to Giverny, go online here and pre-purchase your entry ticket. Tickets are all timed, and cost €11.50 for adults.
Monet’s House and Gardens are open daily from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., but you do want to follow the advice on the site and check available train times from Paris to Vernon-Giverny before you book your time slot, keeping in mind that to get from the train station to the entrance of Monet’s House takes some extra time (more on this in the next section!).
In my case, the best timing for me was the second time slot of the day at 10:30 a.m., so that’s when I purchased my ticket for.
Once you select your number of tickets and the date/time of your visit, you’ll need to register on the site before purchasing your e-ticket using a credit card. You do not need to print this e-ticket out; save it on your phone, and just show it when you arrive. (More on where to enter later, as you get to skip the long ticket line when you pre-buy online!)
NOTE: If you just Google “Monet’s House tickets,” you’re going to get a lot of different results. The best place to buy your tickets is directly through the Fondation Monet website. Giverny.org also sells tickets, but they cost more and include additional fees.
Getting to Giverny from Paris
Since this is a self-guided day trip to Giverny, let’s talk about how to get to Giverny from Paris! The journey may include a metro, train, and bus – which sounds daunting, but I promise it’s not bad.
Train to Vernon-Giverny
You’ll want to take a regional TER train from Paris’ Saint-Lazare train station to Vernon-Giverny (the train station is in the village of Vernon). This is a direct train (no changes necessary), and there are several that run this route every day from Paris. Saint-Lazare is on several Paris Metro lines (Line 3, 12, 13, and 14), so it should be easy to reach the train station from wherever you’re staying.
You can buy your ticket to Vernon-GIverny at the train station using a ticket kiosk machine, or in advance through an app like Trainline. (Tickets won’t sell out, but it’s sometimes easier just to pre-buy a ticket in a app.)
You’ll want to check train times before buying your entry ticket to Monet’s House, as the train times aren’t at even intervals throughout the day. When I did my trip (with an entry time of 10:30 a.m.), I took a train from Saint-Lazare at 8:14 a.m., as there wasn’t another available that would get me there in time.
The train journey from Paris to Vernon takes roughly 50-60 minutes, and prices usually range from €10-€20 one-way (you’ll get cheaper pricing if you book in advance). I booked my Paris-Vernon ticket in advance, but waited to buy the ticket for my return journey to allow myself more flexibility in Giverny.
Taking the Giverny shuttle
Once you arrive at the Vernon train station, you’ll want to take the pedestrian underpass beneath the railroad tracks to the train station itself (don’t just walk out the fence next to the train). Your journey is not quite done, as Vernon is actually a couple miles away from the village of Giverny.
Giverny runs shuttle buses that connect Vernon to Giverny that coincide with all arriving/departing trains from/to Paris after about 9 a.m. Once you get to the train station, follow signs for the Giverny shuttle – or just walk out the front of the station and look for the line of buses with Monet paintings on them.
A round-trip bus ticket between Vernon and Giverny costs €10 (or it’s €5 one-way), and you’ll buy your ticket using cash or card when you board the bus. They usually have enough buses to meet demand, so don’t stress too much about getting a seat.
The bus ride to Giverny is less than 15 minutes, and you’ll be dropped off in the village’s main public parking lot. The return bus times to Vernon are posted right at the bus stop, and I recommend snapping a photo so you know when to come back. (Again, the bus times usually match up with train times back to Paris with some buffer built in.)
How to get to Monet’s House
From the bus parking area, it’s about a 10-minute walk into the village of Giverny (there’s a helpful map with estimated walking times right next to the bus stop). It’s fairly easy to just follow the flow of people through the parking area and into town, as everyone is likely headed to the same place.
Once you get to Monet’s House, though, you need to pay attention. Because you do NOT need to stand in the long ticket line at the main entrance to the house since you already bought your ticket online. (Unless you didn’t pre-book your ticket online; in that case, you will have to stand in the ticket line.)
Look for signs for “Porte 1” and “Porte 1bis,” with arrows pointing down a small lane before the main ticket line. Porte 1 is the group entrance, while Porte 1bis is for “Entree Coupe File” or “Entry With Pass” – which is you! Towards the end of this lane, you’ll find an entry gate through a stone wall, where you’ll have your ticket scanned.
(There are signs, but they’re quite small and easy to miss. Hence, these photos to help you!)
You’ll enter into the back corner of the main flower garden, or Clos Normand, at Monet’s House. And from there, you can explore however you’d like!
Things to do at Monet’s House and Gardens
There are three main areas to explore once you’re inside: Monet’s House itself, the Clos Normand flower garden, and the water garden. There’s no set order in which to visit, and since you’re not on a tour with time constraints, you’re free to spend as much time as you’d like seeing everything.
Clos Normand flower garden
You’ll enter in the main flower garden, which is always bursting with colorful blooms, no matter which month you visit. This was the garden that initially came with the house when Monet purchased it in 1883, but back then it was an apple orchard and kitchen garden.
Monet transformed it over the years into his dream garden, bursting with so many different plants and flowers. (Yes, Monet was an avid gardener as well as a painter!)
Not all of the paths through this garden are open to foot traffic, so be sure to respect any closed or chained-off areas. And it goes without saying that you shouldn’t trample any flowers!
Monet’s House
The long, pink and green house at the head of the Clos Normand garden is where Monet lived with his second wife, Alice, and their combined 8 children. There will likely be a line to enter the house, but it moves quickly and is worth seeing.
Inside, the house is bright and cheery – and was mostly designed by Monet himself! You can explore rooms across both floors of the home, including restored rooms like Monet’s studio and bedroom, and the bright yellow dining room and cool blue kitchen.
The whole house is covered in art prints, too, both of Monet’s work and the art of others.
Water Garden
The most popular part of Monet’s property is definitely the water garden or Japanese garden, which is home to the famous water lily pond. Monet added this garden in the 1890s, and created the pond by diverting a small stream into the garden.
Along with the water lily pond (which, remember, only has water lilies blooming in July/August), this garden has bamboo, a Japanese-style bridge (which drips with wisteria in the spring months), willows, and several serene walking paths. It’s usually very busy with groups and people trying to take photos, but there’s no denying that it’s beautiful.
Monet started painting his famous Water Lilies series here in this garden in 1897.
NOTE: Painting or sketching in the gardens is not allowed, so while you may be tempted to channel Monet while here, leave the art supplies at home. Taking tons of photos is always allowed, though!
How much time to spend at Monet’s House and Gardens
You can of course spend as much time here as you want, but a couple hours is plenty of time. I spent a total of 2 hours exploring the house and gardens, walking slowly through each garden twice. Most guided tours here allow less time to explore, so that’s definitely the benefit of coming on your own.
Other things to do in Giverny
Once you’re done in the gardens, take a browse around the gift shop before leaving Monet’s House and Gardens. Then wander back into the village of Giverny. Some other things you can do include:
- Visit the Museum of Impressionisms, which is an art museum dedicated to the Impressionist movement with rotating art exhibits and another lovely garden.
- Grab lunch in the village – I got a great sandwich from Gourmandises de Giverny.
- Visit Monet’s grave, in the cemetery behind the Giverny Church.
Train back to Paris
Once you’ve seen all there is to see in Giverny, you can catch the train back to Paris. Again, you’ll want to check train times in advance, as there are some timing gaps in the afternoon.
You’ll reverse your steps from earlier, first walking back to the parking lot to catch the shuttle bus back to Vernon. There, you can either buy a train ticket from the ticket counter, or again purchase one using the Trainline app. Then it’s about an hour back to Paris’s Saint-Lazare on the train.
And that’s your day trip to Giverny!
A perfect Giverny day trip itinerary
Here’s exactly what my day trip to Giverny on a weekday looked like (note that weekend train/shuttle times will be slightly different):
- 8:14 a.m. – Train from Paris Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny
- 9:04 a.m. – Arrive in Vernon
- 9:25 a.m. – Shuttle bus to Giverny
- 10:30 a.m. – Entry to Monet’s House and Gardens
- 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Explore Monet’s House and Gardens
- 12:30 p.m. – Lunch and exploring in Giverny
- 3:10 p.m.* – Shuttle bus back to Vernon train station
- 3:40 p.m.* – Train back to Paris
*If you want to get back to Paris earlier, there’s usually a train back to Paris at 1:50 p.m. on weekdays, too.
Giverny tours from Paris
And if you’ve read this far and have changed your mind about doing this trip on your own, that’s okay! There are lots of guided tour options from Paris, some of which can also combine a visit to Giverny with other sites/attractions.
Here are some good Giverny tours to consider:
Who’s ready to take a day trip to Giverny to see Monet’s inspiration?
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she’s actually traveled!