Paris to Giverny: The Perfect Day Trip
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Looking for a breath of fresh air in one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, right outside of Paris? Search no more! Taking a day trip from Paris to Giverny is one of the best activities to do while visiting Paris. Giverny was home to Claude Monet, a famous and prolific impressionist painter whose works focused primarily on depicting tranquil nature. In Giverny, you’ll find his incredible house and expansive gardens including the iconic Japanese bridge portrayed in one of his most famous paintings “Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lillies”.
If you’d like more ideas on day trips to take from Paris, check out this other helpful article I wrote on two of my favorite day trips.
Paris to Giverny // How to Get There
Book a Tour
If you don’t feel like organizing this trip by yourself, don’t worry, there are plenty of tour providers in Paris that will drive you to Giverny and give you an in-depth tour of the gardens and house. However, if you are a photographer and want to spend more time in the gardens without the pressure of a tour schedule, I do recommend getting there on your own. Here is how!
Go on your Own
By car, the journey to Giverny takes about 1 hour through the highway. It’s an easy and pleasant ride. If you don’t happen to have a car or if you’d like to be more environmentally conscious, it’s also quite easy to reach Giverny by public transportation.
Public Transportation
To go from Paris to Giverny, head to Saint Lazare train station and take the train to Vernon-Giverny. You can buy tickets online here, or simply purchase them as you get to the station. The journey lasts about 50 minutes. From there—you will be arriving in Vernon and not Giverny itself, you can either:
Take a shuttle for a 10€ round trip
Take a small train for 8€ one way
Paris to Giverny // Buying Tickets
Although you can buy tickets to visiting Monet’s gardens and the house directly in Giverny, I do advise you to book in advance as this is a hot spot for large tourist groups and you wan’t want to do the journey without having a spot secured. Buy yours here.
Covid-19 note: Jake and I visited back in May 2020 and we were required to book in advance as the numbers of people in the gardens and house are limited per hour. We had to wear a mask in the house and in the gardens. Although these times are, in theory, not very desirable for exploring museums and tourist attractions, we were both very pleasantly surprised as the gardens were rather peaceful and not crowded.
Paris to Giverny // What to Do in Giverny
Giverny is a very small village but there is surprisingly a lot to do there! The main attraction is without a doubt the Monet house and gardens but there are other places to explore apart from that.
Foundation Claude Monet
Note: Only open from April 1st to November 1st.
If you are passionate about nature and flowers, well, you’re about to be in heaven! The luxurious gardens of Monet boast an incredible array of plants, trees, and flowers. Think water lilies, wisteria, and azaleas that provide a real-life illustration of the painters’ daily inspiration. French President Georges Clemenceau even once declared his garden should be counted among his masterpieces.
In Monet’s gardens, each month has its new array of flowers and colors and although I personally enjoy July and August the best—when the water lilies, poppies, and dahlias generally bloom, the gardens can be enjoyed at any time between April and November.
There are two distinct areas to the gardens: the Clos Normand and the Japanese-inspired Water garden. Here are a few photos from each location.
The Clos Normand
Japanese-inspired Water Garden
After you have gotten your fill of floral beauty, you can head to Monet’s quaint pink house for a visit. The house is remarkable for its use of distinct, bright colors and its collection of Japanese prints. Any of the artist’s own works you see here are reproductions.
Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny
If only here for a day trip from Paris, I do recommend also making time to visit the Musée des Impressionnismes. Their collections change every season, and although the permanent collection isn’t remarkable, their annual and seasonal exhibits are always excellent.
If you’d like to see more work from the Impressionist period, you can visit Le Musée d’Orsay or L’Orangerie, in the heart of Paris.
Where to Eat in Giverny
Musée des Impressionnismes
Bistro style dining in the pleasant restaurant attached to the museum—don’t expect anything different then salads, burgers, and so on, but the setting is absolutely delightful.
Le Jardin des Plumes
If you’re looking to indulge, you must try this hotel’s restaurant! They’ve held a Michelin star for quite a while now and they offer a set lunch menu for about 50€.
I hope you have enjoyed this article and please don’t hesitate to drop a comment below if you have any questions or whether you simply want to support my work. No need to register, just type in a name an a comment!
NOTE: All the photos in this article were edited with the presets from the Not Just Colour Folk Collection Pack available for sale here. Get -$5 OFF on your next purchase with code: FINDYOURTONE2020. Not Just Colour donates 5% of all its profit to the Environmental Justice Foundation.
MORE IN FRANCE
Today, I will be taking you along for a scenic 2 days hiking itinerary, amidst the Pyrenee’s most famous and beloved natural site, the Cirque de Gavarnie. Most famous for its sharp granite peaks and being home to the endangered brown bears, this mountain range transforms into a true hiker’s paradise in the summer! Wait until you see the photos!