Giverny in June

Note that the Marmottan is third position in this particular "impressionism" listing:
https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/inspiration/themed-guides/impressionist-journeys-paris-montmartre

https://giverny.org/museums/impressionism/exhibition/
Sound missable to me.

The Impressionist museum in Giverny has temporary exhibits. I believe this is the exhibit that will be on during June 2025: https://www.mdig.fr/en/exhibitions-and-activities/exhibitions/the-nahmad-collection/

The Marmottan is a fine museum. I suppose visiting the Musee Giverny will depend on your interest in the temporary exhibit.

For me, 3 hours would be generous. The house and garden area are quite compact. Of course, there will be many other tourists. If you want a selfie on the famous bridge unaccompanied by others, you might wait awhile!

Check the train and bus shuttle to Giverny also if you intend to use that.

I will add this personal anecdote just as warning - people react differently to crowds. I enjoyed a rather full-of-visitors excursion to Giverny on a glorious September day, but my friend (a former Paris resident and long time France visitor) was so overwhelmed that she insisted we leave earlier than planned. I'm sure you've read about potential crowds.

the Marmottan definitely before the museum in Givery which is not worth going to IMHO although it has a fair restaurant which in early summer would I think have outdoor seating. The Marmottan has a wonderful collection of Monets including Impression Sunrise which is the painting that gives Impressionism its name. If you are interested in Impressionist art it is IMHO a don't miss.

I think Giverny takes more than 3 hours but then we like to linger by the pond. The house can be seriously jammed up and crowded but the crowds don't really matter at the rest of the site.

Tim, with all due respect, I wouldn’t classify the Marmottan as missable based on that list. I actually have been to L’Orangerie - and loved it

I don’t currently have plans to visit the Orsay, but I think I could fit it in…

Thanks!

ORD, looks like an interesting exhibit…but not enough to get me into the museum and away from the Marmottan, which gets raves from everyone.

Before coming here, I read less than impressed reviews of the Giverny museum, so I guess I have my answer, lol

I’m glad it’s compact - I’ll enjoy, have lunch, and get back to Paris.

I hate crowds, but it is what it is. The train schedule only shows trains starting at 2 pm, but I guess that’s because there’s little reason to go now until April.

I’ll make sure I get to the house/gardens as early as possible…Yes, it may be crowded, but the gardens must be spectacular in June

Fortunately I don’t give a darn about selfies, lol - I just want my photos!

Thank you so much!

Janet, thanks!

Yeah, I’m not dumping the Marmottan - I’m really excited to visit as I love Impressionism.

I love water, so I’m like you - I’d spend more time by the pond!

The gardens must be incredible in June
Thank you!

Sorry, it may have been unclear that the antecedent to "missable" was the small museum at Giverny.

I was not saying that the Marmottan was missable. I was saying that an interest in Impressionism (I mean, not just Monet) makes omitting Musée d'Orsay (181,400 sq. ft.) to be a big mistake. Of course they are not all up at once, but D'Orsay has over 80 paintings by Monet. (Fewer than the Marmottan. I don't know about relative "quality".)

The D'Orsay is an influential and popular Paris museum, perhaps #2 after the Louvre.

When I visited Giverny (pre-Covid - things do change), we had been to Marmottan the day before and purchased dual tickets - one for Marmottan and the other for Giverny. So, we arrived at Giverny with tickets and could enter using a shorter line. It looks like they still sell these - I don't know if there is a discount.
https://www.marmottan.fr/en/prepare-your-visit/admission/

More travelers seem to be buying entry tickets to many places online these days than when I was last at Giverny, so there may be no advantage at this point in time to having pre-purchased a physical ticket. I'm just throwing it out for consideration. Maybe a very recent traveler can give you a better idea of how to get in quickly!

I'm like you as regards crowds - I take it as it comes and make do!

Tim, no problem!

For some reason I feel like I’ve been to the Orsay, but if I have, I don’t remember clearly

I’ll fit it in !

Thanks!

ORD, I’m one to always purchase on-line - I just like having everything taken care of.

You can buy paired tickets with Marmottan at Giverny, but only on site. You can buy paired Giverny tickets on the Marmottan website….which is what I’d likely do

Thanks!

Another vote in favor of bypassing the museum in Giverny (almost 3 years later & I will wonder if I missed something...the exhibit I saw was mainly about Rothko) and sticking with the Marmottan (absolutely delightful! amazing Monets, but the rest of the collection is fabulous too).

Monet's gardens & house will be crowded...I don't think you can beat the crowds as tour buses start arriving first thing. But you won't care once you're there as you'll be too busy looking at the beautiful scenery. It's an incredible experience & you wind up kind of just tuning the other people out.

I think I spent about 3 hours there, including wandering the gardens, touring the house & circling the pond twice. Followed with lunch from a little cart nearby rather than a sit-down restaurant. Wish I could remember the name cause it was tasty & they had a lovely little courtyard. Looking at google maps, it might have been La Capucine?

Whatever you have to do to visit the Orsay, do it. It's IMO maybe the finest art museum in the world, though I'd entertain votes for the Prado.

An enthusiastic vote for an outdoor lunch at the Restaurant Baudy in Giverny. I usually get the duck omelet. I haven't been to the other restaurant you mentioned. The house and gardens and lunch in June could easily take 3 hours. Also the short walk through the village is lovely.

I also would take a pass on the Impression Museum in Giverny unless the temporary exhibition looks especially interesting.

We were in Giverny in June 2023. I think your times are right. We got an early start like you plan - but not early enough, I guess. By the time we arrived mid-to-late morning it was moving into the 80s ... felt hotter due to humidity. And Giverny was quite crowded, especially inside the house where Monet lived and had some lovely art; some Japanese, some by other Impressionists. It was all lovely, but it was a long and very hot day. Of course, the train back to Paris was also hot & crowded as was transportation in Paris from St. Lazare to our hotel ... so uncomfortable that we bailed on the bus and walked the rest of the way.

So, Giverny was a lovely sight and I am glad we went. But it was an ordeal for the reasons above.

Our four night trip to Paris was otherwise quite enjoyable and marked by activities to avoid both heat and crowds:

• Luxembourg Garden,
• special art exhibits at the Petite Palais (on Sarah Bernhardt) and the Musee du Luxembourg (a tribute to Monet's brother, Claude),
• four of the Passages Couverts (in the 9th and 2d Arr.),
• a Sunday morning organ recital after mass at St. Sulpice,
• Maison Balzac with its scores of wood cuts from the Comedie Humaine & views of the Eiffel Tower, and
• dining along Rue Mouffetard.

Maggie, thanks!

I’m stoked to visit the Marmottan - I just think right now I have to prioritize things, and so my only focus now at Giverny is the reasons to go

The crowd will be what it will be - so I’ll just work with it, lol

JP, I’m going to - not only the art collection, but the museum itself is a masterpiece

Thanks!

Grier, that sounds delicious!

I assume the bulk of most peoples’ visits is the pond as the house is pretty small?

Yeah, I’m going to pass on the Impression Museum - I have to prioritize

Thank you!

Fred, June is a great time to visit because the garden will be gorgeous, but yeah - it comes with some drawbacks. No point worrying now - I’ll just hope for good weather

Trains don’t have a/c?

I love the Tuileries - I’m definitely going to hang out there a bit. I also love dipping my feet in the fountain by the Louvre pyramid !

Sounds like a wonderful vacation!

Betsy

The train's a/c couldn't meet the demand.

Do get an early start if the forecast is for a warm day.

(Our 4 nights in Paris capped a 30-day trip: Bordeaux (3 nights), Dordogne (8 nights), Nantes (2 nights), Loire Valley (7 nights), Chartres (2 nights) and Versailles (1 night). Versailles was the sight we could have skipped, in hindsight.)

Wow….hopefully it won’t be that hot in June, lol

I’m getting an early start no matter what!

Wow! What a magnificent trip - where did you love the most?

Versailles seems overwhelming to me..maybe I’ll visit in the future, but I don’t feel the need