Giverny transportation 2023

The shuttles are running.

Which St Lazare are you referring to? Probably not the 2 towns of that name in Canada. In Paris, there is a street, a prison, a Metro station, and a rail station, all with that name.

Here is the page from the Monet foundation website about how to get there via bus and navette (and yes I took it in the summer of 2020).

https://fondation-monet.com/en/practical-informations/#acces

And given that you are asking about transit to Vernon, and the trains to there depart Paris from Gare St Lazare, I think it's not an especially large leap to be certain you are speaking about the Gare St Lazare. Yes, I think it is safe. It is very busy though, so as with anywhere, be sure to have your wits about you (and a money belt for your valuables, which you should wear anyway for the metro to get there ).

Kim, many thanks, very helpful! Thanks for taking the time to respond.
JP

OP here, returned from wonderful trip to Giverny, 18 April 2023. I thought I would provide some updates and lessons learned for any visitors later in the travelling year, and who may be like me, a first time Paris visitor and a little nervous about such an unsupervised trip.
-First, don’t hesitate to go! It is awe-inspiring to be there.
-Allow time to visit the very fine Museum of Impressionism, right by Monet’s house and on the walk back to the public parking. It hosts visiting exhibits and can be toured in one hour, allowing you to enjoy the paintings thoughtfully. Very well laid out and nicely curated and expertly and concisely explained. Currently « Children of the Impressionists. » Just wonderful.
-I have travelled internationally in East Asia for 21 years and took trains constantly as part of my job. The ticketing process at departure terminal Gare St. Lazare is confusing. Tickets can be bought same day, and in a short line, though underserved by ticketmasters, (when we were there at about 0930.) The ticketing office is on the RH side of the station as you enter in a separate orange highlighted office. Personnel v. helpful.
-Gare St. Lazare is spic and span clean and very safe. I was worried. No reason to have been. Many levels, many shops, lots of food options if you arrive early for your train. And it is kind of cool to be leaving for Giverny from the station Monet painted so many times and is in our imaginations.
-Beware of the departures. Our train departed from gate 12-21. What???? I was used to a big neocon sign with the gate brightly yelling out ´Here I Am!’ Not so here. The train will be on gate 12-21, but read the scrolling display above the gate and you will see Vernon-Giverny scroll by. Check it. Board. Enjoy.
-Trains to Vernon-Giverny have WCs. This is wonderful, absolutely wonderful!
-WC at Gare St. Lazare is 2 euro. Absolute robbery, of course, but provides a clean environment.
-Shuttle bus at Vernon Station is as professional as you can get. Driver very competent, fine English. 10 euro round trip. A paper schedule is provided in the bus for you to match when you want to depart the public parking (abt. 10 min stroll, 8 min walk from Monet’s house) for the short ride back to Vernon Station.
-Shuttle bus is a big honkin’ bus that you can’t miss as you walk of of the station. I thought it might be a small 15 pax-type and that it might not be able to load all the visitors from the train. No problem. Look for probably two big buses, departing at the same time, straight ahead as you swing out of the station. Buy your tickets as you embark the bus.
-The shuttle bus schedules highlight each of the non-local trains back the GSL. Paper schedule in the bus as you step abord, and posted at the drop off spot. That’s important. I fretted about the shuttle bus getting us back in time for a return train, based on RATP. RATP was providing me the local trains. I thought we might miss a train to GSL. So go with the shuttle bus schedule. They do this for a living and they got it right. No need to worry.
For me, this was a dream of my adult life, and I am so happy we went there! I hope you will go and if you do, I know you will have the greatest time.

What a wonderful write-up ! I am so glad you enjoyed your visit so much. Thank you for taking the time to write up these details, which will be so useful for so many people !

Excellent report. Let me offer some tips for future travelers about Gare Saint-Lazare and finding your platform. You can buy your tickets from a machine and the machines have an English language version so you don't need to stand in line at the ticket window. You need to look for the SNCF machines and not the Ile-de-France machines. IME the machines accept foreign credit cards but that can be a sticky issue sometimes, in which case you'll need to go to the ticket window.

To find your platform look at the blue overhead monitors that say "Grandes Lignes", not the ones that say "Ile-de-France". The platform is usually posted 20 minutes prior to departure but I've been there when it was only posted 5 minutes prior to departure. The train can leave from a different platform every day so it's not always leaving from the same platform. To be sure you are on the right train at the head of each platform is a monitor that lists all the stops that train will make so make sure you see "Vernon" listed as one of the stops before you board the train.

This is such a nice and helpful post. Thank you for circling back around to share your experience. And so glad you had such a great time!

Just wanted to add a quick addition to JohnP’s information above. I am his « traveling partner », aka, spouse :)

This is a minor point for many, but might matter to some: the train from Saint Lazare to Vernon has an outlet for charging phones at the seats, but, of course, only if you have a European plug- which, alas, I did not have with me for the short train ride. The shuttle from Vernon to Giverny, though, had a USB outlet, which I took full advantage of both one the way to and return from Giverny.

I was glad I’d charged my phone as much as possible for taking pictures at the place we’d dreamed of seeing for so long!

Thank you both, John and LaughFP. What a wonderful time you had! Yes, the shuttles to Giverny are way more obvious than you think they are going to, lol!!

I’ll add for future lurkers that it is much easier to buy your train ticket via app on your phone from the quiet of your hotel room!!

I do this journey several times a year so I'll add that if you buy a ticket on-line at a discounted price then that ticket is only valid for the date and time that you purchased. Otherwise you can just show up at the train station on the day of your trip and buy a ticket from a machine (use the SNCF machines, not the Ile-de-France machines) or from the ticket window. The machines have English language versions. The full fare (non-discounted) from Paris to Vernon is €16.80 one way and these tickets can be used on any train during the day for the date shown on the ticket as they are TER trains, which require no reservations. As such, tickets can not sell out and if the train seats are full then those not seated will stand. There are first and second class tickets but there is no assigned seating and there is no reason to purchase a first class ticket for such a short journey (the journey takes 50 minutes). Use sncf-connect.com to check for schedules and prices. There are barriers that you'll need to pass through before you are able to access the platforms and you'll scan your ticket to pass through these barriers.

There are sometimes discounted fares available on-line if you want to purchase your train ticket ahead of time but the thing is that if it is raining on the date you purchased for then you are stuck. Forecasts for rain in northern France are notoriously unpredictable and I wouldn't trust any forecast more than a day or two in advance as weather forecasts often change every 12-24 hours. I would only buy a discounted ticket on-line no more than 2 days prior to my planned trip and I'd only do so if the forecast prediction is for good weather on the day of your visit.

thanks for this, bookmarking...