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Giverny
Paris is home to Monet’s Impressionist masterpieces but if you want to see them come to life you must travel to Giverny. The tiny village, just a 45-minute train ride from Paris, is home to Monet’s astonishingly beautiful estate and gardens. Visitors can tour the pink house where the artist lived as well as the vast 5-acre garden where he drew inspiration. Strolling through the grounds makes you feel as though you’re in one of his paintings.
Having first discovered Giverny while gazing out a train window, Monet made his home there from 1883 until his death in 1926. He was a skilled gardener and poured endless energy into creating the landscape he wished to paint.
His sprawling garden is divided into two parts, the Clos Normand — a pastel paradise of irises, hollyhocks and climbing roses — and the Japanese water garden, dotted with weeping willows, water lilies and the Japanese bridge famously captured in his Nymphaes series. The Monet estate is open daily from April through October, 9:30 am – 6:00 pm.
Paris Vacation Rentals 2 Bedroom Apartment in Le Louvre (PA-3716)
Next to Monet’s house is the Musée des Impressionisms Giverny. From May to mid-August this year, the museum is hosting a special exhibit of 20 paintings created by Monet of his gardens at Giverny. This must-see exhibit allows visitors to view the water lily paintings in the setting in which they were painted.
Getting to Giverny from Paris is easy. Begin your journey from the Saint-Lazare train station and take the Paris/Rouen/Le Havre line to Vernon, a small town just three miles away from Giverny. After arriving in Vernon, you can take a taxi, rent a bicycle or even walk to the Claude Monet estate.
New York Habitat has hundreds of gorgeous apartments all over Paris that are perfect for the art-loving traveler. You can contemplate Monet’s masterpieces in the Musée D’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie, then take a daytrip to Giverny to see the gardens that inspired them. Check out these great apartment finds:
- This huge 2-Bedroom Vacation Rental in Opera - Le Louvre (PA-3716) that features exposed wooden beams, bold modern furnishings and a piano. Enjoy the open kitchen and bar.
- This lovely 1-Bedroom Vacation Rental in Opera - Le Louvre (PA-3919), located on the sixth floor of an 18th-century building with an elevator. The living room has eastern exposure with a window overlooking the quaint street below.
Have you ever been to Giverny? Share your experience with us!
Related apartment rental posts from New York Habitat:
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- The Dutch Golden Age Comes to Paris
- Top 5 Hidden Gem Museums in Paris — #4 Le Musée Gallieria
- Top 5 Hidden Gem Museums in Paris — #5 Le Musée du Vin
August 10th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
The Monet’s Gardens are wonderful. I remembered when I visited Paris few years ago, I took a Full Day Tour from Paris and it was great. Our guide was very knowledgeable and the weather was perfect mid-June.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
I went to the Monet Gardens while I was in Paris. It is a bit of a commute, but it is well worth it!
August 11th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Dear Nick, when you are on vacations the commute doesn’t matter!! No matter where you are in the world you know that when travelling you will have to do some “commute”. And for the Monet’s Gardens ride the train through out the beautiful Normandy I will not call that a commute!
August 11th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I did not have the opportunity to visit Monet’s Gardens when I went to Paris. I guess I did not realize it was pretty close. It looks beautiful, though!
August 12th, 2009 at 10:42 am
A visit to Monet’s Gardens at Giverny and the to l’Orangerie makes for a marvelous trip to Paris. The newly refurbished museum blew me away the last time I got the chance to visit it.
August 13th, 2009 at 11:44 am
You’ve sold me on the picture of the gardens at Giverny on your website!