# Giverny: Claude Monet's house and gardens, Paris > Giverny is a Normandy village 80 kilometres from Paris where Claude Monet lived for 43 years and created the gardens he painted for the rest of his life. His pink house with green shutters survives, along with the Clos Normand flower garden with its rose arches and the water garden with its Japanese bridge and pond full of the water lilies now hanging in the Orangerie. It's Normandy's second most visited site after Mont-Saint-Michel. The gardens open from spring to autumn, about an hour from Paris by train to Vernon. Web page: https://yesgo.io/france/paris/giverny - City: [Paris](https://yesgo.io/france/paris), France - YesGo score: 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 3 h - Opening hours: Spring to autumn, by day - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Ticket for the house and gardens - Season: Roughly April to October - Getting there: Train from Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny, then bus - Distance: ≈ 80 km from Paris - Duration: Half a day, a full day with travel - Location: Giverny, Eure, Normandy - Coordinates: 49.07500, 1.53556 - Facts checked: 12.11.2026 ## Key facts - **1883** — Monet moved to Giverny (source: English Wikipedia) - **43** — years the painter lived here (source: English Wikipedia) - **1980** — house and gardens opened to the public (source: English Wikipedia) - **530,000** — visitors in 2010 (source: English Wikipedia) ## About Giverny Giverny is a small village in the Eure department, on the right bank of the Seine where it meets the Epte, about **80 kilometres** west of Paris. **Claude Monet** made it famous: he spotted it from a train window, rented a house here in **1883**, bought it with its land in 1890 and created the gardens he painted for over forty years. After the painter's death his son left the estate to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The house and gardens were restored and opened to the public in **1980**. Today the Fondation Claude Monet runs them, and Giverny is Normandy's second most visited site after Mont-Saint-Michel. ## What to see - **The water garden** — a lily pond, willows and wisteria. - **The Japanese bridge** — the green bridge from Monet's paintings. - **The Clos Normand** — flowerbeds and arches of climbing roses. - **Monet's house** — pink walls, green shutters, a yellow dining room. - **Japanese prints** — the painter's collection in the house. - **The Museum of Impressionism** — exhibitions in the same village. ## The water garden and lilies The estate's most famous part is the **water garden** Monet created on an arm of the Epte. He dug a pond, planted it with **water lilies**, framed it with willows, bamboo, azaleas and wisteria, and spanned it with a green **Japanese bridge**. He saw coloured hybrid lilies at the 1889 World's Fair and ordered them for his pond. Monet painted this pond hundreds of times at every hour and season, and here the Water Lilies cycle was born, now in the [Musée de l'Orangerie](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/musee-de-lorangerie) and museums worldwide. Standing on the bridge, you recognise the paintings: the same water, the same reflected clouds, the same flowers. > **When to go** The gardens open only in the warm season, roughly early April to late October; in winter the estate is closed. Wisteria and azaleas bloom in May, roses in June, water lilies in summer, asters and dahlias in autumn. Arrive at opening or late in the day: at midday, especially at weekends, tour groups crowd the narrow paths. Buying tickets online in advance is easiest. ## The Clos Normand and the house Before the house spreads the **Clos Normand** flower garden: rectangular beds with flowers grouped by colour and an avenue under iron arches covered in roses. Monet planted thousands of flowers and chose them like colours on a palette. The painter's **house** is a long two-storey farmhouse with pink walls and green shutters. Inside are a bright yellow dining room, a blue kitchen with copper pans, a studio-sitting room and rooms hung with his collection of **Japanese prints**, arranged as Monet himself wished. His bedroom window looks over the garden. ## A village of painters From 1887 **American Impressionists** began arriving in Giverny, Willard Metcalf, Theodore Robinson, Frederick Frieseke and others, turning the village into an artists' colony. Their social hub was the **Hôtel Baudy**, still a café and restaurant with period décor. The village has the **Museum of Impressionism Giverny**, with exhibitions on Impressionism and painters of the Seine valley, and an old Romanesque church of Sainte-Radegonde. Galleries, cafés and souvenir shops line Rue Claude Monet. ## How to get there 1. Train from **Gare Saint-Lazare** to **Vernon-Giverny**, about 50 minutes. 2. From Vernon station, a shuttle bus to Giverny, about 20 minutes, or hire a bike. 3. By car or transfer from Paris, about an hour via the A13. 4. Many tours from Paris combine Giverny with Rouen or Auvers-sur-Oise. ## Tips for your trip Allow two to three hours for the house and gardens: stroll the water garden slowly, sit by the pond and be sure to see the house. With travel it's a full day; the first morning train is best. Before going, see the Water Lilies at the Orangerie or Monet's paintings at the [Musée d'Orsay](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/musee-dorsay), and you'll recognise every corner at Giverny. Photos are fine in the gardens; check the rules inside the house. The paths are narrow and get crowded at peak times, so with a pushchair come on a weekday. Lunch in a village café or at the Hôtel Baudy. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Check the gardens are open - [ ] Buy a ticket online - [ ] Check the train to Vernon - [ ] Stand on the Japanese bridge - [ ] Visit Monet's yellow dining room ## Places in Paris: compare and choose Places in Paris rated by YesGo. - [Palace of Fontainebleau](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/fontainebleau) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Palace ticket, gardens free - [Giverny](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/giverny) — YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Ticket for the house and gardens ## Don't mix it up Giverny is Monet's house and gardens in Normandy; his huge Water Lilies panels hang in the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. ## Tips - Spring to autumn only. - Tickets online. - Early to beat crowds. - Train from Saint-Lazare. ## Questions ### How do I get to Giverny from Paris? By train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny, then the shuttle bus. ### When are Monet's gardens open? Roughly April to October; the estate is closed in winter. ### How long do I need? Two to three hours for the house and gardens, a full day with travel. ### When is the best time to go? May–June for blossom or summer for the lilies, on a weekday morning. ### Where can I see the Water Lilies in Paris? At the Musée de l'Orangerie in the Tuileries. ## How we checked Facts from English Wikipedia. The opening season, prices and journey times weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Giverny, Fondation Claude Monet - Fondation Claude Monet official website, fondation-monet.com --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.