Giverney

When are you planning to travel?

Depends on whether you have been to Paris before and whether you have a car. Four days is not much time for Paris if it's your first time. I loved Giverny, but we had two weeks our first time in Paris. We were using public transportation, and it really took an entire day for the day trip to Giverny. If you have a car, it would be quicker. Still, I think the early Giverny trip makes more sense.

We are traveling during the first two weeks of June. We visited Paris for a few days several years ago and visited many of the "must see" sites. For this trip, I have allotted 4 days in Paris. I want to make sure we make it to Giverny this time.

Early June is a beautiful time at Giverny. Since it's a must for you, I'd vote for doing it on the front end. I agree with Janet, from Paris for a day trip it usually takes me 3/4 of a day.

However, having said that, I'd also be wary of doing the Normandy area around the D-Day Anniversary. Visitation is at peak at this time and unless you have someone who landed at Normandy and are set on this, I'd avoid the area around June 5/6/7. To do this you might want to look at running your trip in the other direction and starting at Chartres, renting from there and working the area in a clockwise manner. That would put Giverny toward the end but flower-wise it would still be fine.

It's a schlep to day trip from Paris. It will be much more efficient with a car.

It sounds like you are planning to rent a car at CDG and drive to your first overnight stop. If you are arriving from another European destination, that's fine. But if you're coming off a long-haul flight, probably zonked and jetlagged, it's a bad idea. Driving without proper sleep is the same as DUI. In that case, I'd start in Paris and then do the road trip, dropping the car at the airport (or train station) at the end of your trip. According to google maps (which usually underestimates driving time), it's over an hour from CDG to Giverny, more than 3 hours to Caen.

Hitch-hiking on Chani's cautionary comment about starting in Giverny:

Upon arrival at CDG from the US, we picked up our rental car, but spent the first night at a hotel in the village of Roissy-en-France, a few minutes from CDG. We hit the road early and well-rested the following morning, and arrived at Giverny in time to park with no difficulty, get a snack, and be in line when the doors opened. There are several hotel choices in Roissy; the Marriott worked for us -- convenient shuttle, good restaurant, and a 2-minute walk into surprisingly charming Roissy. The 2+ hour drive from Giverny to our Normandy base in Bayeau the next day was easy and pleasant. (It looks like the Giverny/Mont St. Michel trip would be a bit longer, but certainly doable.)

Hi Cindy,
We just returned from France last week and followed a similar itinerary to what you have wrote above. We flew into Paris (best flight option) - took a train to Rennes, rented a car, drive to Mont Saint Michel and spent the night (a must to stay overnight!). Drove to Bayeux, stayed 2 nights - did Overlord DDay tour one of the days, drove from Bayeux to Honfleur for the day, then to the Loire Valley - Amboise. This was the longest stretch of driving - about 3 hours - but the countryside was beautiful and we really enjoyed the driving option. Stayed in Amboise 2 nights then dropped the car off at the Tours train station and took the train to Paris where we stayed for 5 nights. We took a day trip to Giverny (went with the Fat Tire Giverny Bike Tour - which we loved!) It was nice to rely on the tour for the logistics to Giverny (tour was from 9am to 6pm) We found this schedule to be very enjoyable - nothing too rushed (of course you always want more days!) Giverny was a trip highlight even with late gardens in early fall status - the town is darling and the gardens magical!

What is the town itself like? Shops, cafes, bakeries? Is it affluent? Pretty? Gritty? Are
there market days for locals?

Giverny is a pretty village, but it is tiny. Many tourism related services of course (restaurants, hôtels) but not much 'local life'. If driving, check out nearby La Roche Guyon, it is prettier, more French, and has an impressive castle.

The nearest train station is in Vernon (that's where day trippers go on the way to Giverny from Paris). It's 2-3 km away. I was sorry I didn't leave time to explore it a little when I daytripped. It looked quite nice.

My husband and I just got back from 16 days in France. We spent 4 days in Paris and then overnighted in Giverny on our way to Normandy. This was delightful, as it allowed us to visit Monet’s home late in the afternoon (4pm) when the crowds had greatly diminished. We then spent 4 night in Normandy, overnighted near Mt St Michel and then spent 4 days in the Loire Valley. We visited Chartres on the way back to Paris, where we dropped off the rental car and stayed at an airport hotel before our flight the next day.