Giverny and Rouen

I would stick with Giverny OR Rouen. There isn't enough time to see both in one day and still travel to and from Paris.

Giverny is, to me, about 3/4 of a day counting travel time. The town has a nice church and is nice enough to walk around, but the highlights are Monet's house and gardens. I would head back to Paris after that, and take a one hour ride on the Seine that evening. For Rouen I would take an early train (just under 2 hours) and stay through dinner. The cathedral is beautiful and has concerts and a luminescence show , the medieval old town deserves lots of strolling (the clock!) and you can seek out the Joan of Arc connections. There are many, many good restaurants and cafes also, plus a couple of good museums. Rouen deserves a whole day.
Best of luck in your planning!

Thank you, Judy! This is so helpful.

I’ve wanted to see Monet’s gardens for awhile. So I think we will skip Rouen. It’s helpful to know that doing both will be difficult. I like your suggestion to do the Seine ride :)

What month will you be in Paris?

mentors,
Good choice on Giverny. I like both places and am sure you will love Giverny and will be less tired after your trip there than after a day trip to Rouen.
Another hint....you should reserve a time, and I suggest getting there early if only to avoid the crowds that will be there when the tour buses arrive. What month are you going? We were there in late April and the flowers were wonderful, but the gardens always put on a terrific "show". It is perhaps best to explore the gardens first, as they are the main experience, then the house. I would rather be crowded in the house than the gardens.
Have fun!

I agree with skipping Rouen and just concentrating on Giverny and Vernon.

While I have not rented bikes, when I last went in October 2024, I did observe people who had rented bikes from the place right near the Vernon train station having mechanical difficulties with the bikes. I'm not entirely sure if it was the user or the bike but I saw one woman return hers while I was waiting for the shuttle, then on the 2nd one saw her stopped a little way down the trail and appeared to be having difficulty with the tires.

When you are in Giverny, I suggest you also walk down the main street to the church where Monet and his family are buried. In the churchyard is also a memorial to a Lancaster Bomber crew that was shot down on the night of June 7-8, 1944 just near town. While we now see Giverny as a center for art, it was in the midst of the DDay invasion and that thought always jerks me up short. I think I tend to compartmentalize when I visit locations on vacation but that makes me stop and realize this area was occupied by German forces and liberated by the Allies. I saw on your other thread that you are going to try and do an afternoon visit to the DDay beaches so this is just another piece of that story. The memorial also includes a twisted propellor from the bomber.

Be sure to look at the train schedule on SNCF-connect and take the train that does not require a change. There are direct ones outbound. I think my train left at 10:11.

I can't imagine Rouen as a day trip. I spent 3 days there a couple weeks back and left a lot undone. I really enjoy Rouen, so far it's been one of my favorite bigger cities in France.

Was in Rouen, April 4 and Giverny April 5, 2025.

Giverny: have gone about 3 times in various seasons. My latest experience:
*I bought train tics RT. Ticket going out there was essential as the train was packed. The bus from the station was a nightmare, not enough busses, one was parked at an angle and a car was parked across the street. No bus or the tourist train could get through. Why the bus could not pull up and straighten out I do not know but it was 1 hour before the car was towed and the busses ran.

• have euros for the bus. Every CC transaction took at least 6-9 minutes. *I toured Vernon after my Garden tour and church is under renovation and I did not find anything special about the town. I had wanted to tour it the other times I was there so maybe expecting too much.
• posted bus schedule and actual bus schedule the bus runs on are not the same. Posted one is incorrect at least when I was there. *be sure to know where to get the bus back to the station. *be sure to know which line at the Garden to get on to enter. At the road to the Garden the road splits. You need to wander to the left if you have a ticket which I strongly recommend you get as the line was very long to buy the ticket there. *entry to the house was boob to butt and you are sort of moved along through the rooms. *Gardens even on the first few opening days were lovely.

Seine cruise is a good idea and maybe Notre Dame as later in the afternoon, there was no need for a ticket. I went 3x in my 5 days in Paris and 1 ticket and 2 without and same amount of time for all 3.

*Lourve Couture has been extended. Wonderful, unique and beautiful items. I went on the First Friday of the month (April) and it was free entry after 6. I took advantage of it as it was the only thing I wanted to see and not interested in paying 22E for the whole museum. That might be an option as well.