How do you get to Giverny on your own?

You take a train from Paris to Vernon (the nearest train station) which is about 2 miles away. Buses for Giverny meet the trains and you just get a bus ticket there. Or you can rent a bike or walk if so inclined.

Take the train from Paris to Vernon. Then a shuttle or taxi to Giverny. Looks like Nancy and I were writing at the same time.

Take a train from Paris Saint Lazare station to Vernon. They leave at least hourly, take about a half hour, and my recollection is they cost about 10 euros. From Vernon, you will need to walk, taxi or maybe bus to Giverny which I believe is about 2 miles.

Just to say when you take the bus it seems further than 2 miles. It might be two miles if you could go as the crow flies, but a human on land who needs to cross a bridge to get to the other side of the river will have further to go.

Edit to add:
I checked, it's 5.5 km or 3.3 miles. One map app says it would take 90 minutes to walk. That's definitely doable, but just be aware.

I recommend being there when they open, it can get very crowded very quickly.

I agree with Susan, it gets crowded fast. We were given a tip to enter in the "back door", where the tours go in. It's between the back garden and the water garden

We’ve taken the train from Paris to Vernon and then caught the shuttle bus waiting outside the station. Easy-peasy. As we walked out of the station, so proud that we had gotten up and out early and would be the first at the garden, we had a bit of a rude awakening. It turned out that 80 or so other early-bird-do-it-yourselfers spilled off of the train with us at Vernon and the two shuttle busses filled quickly. Somehow we still managed to be one of the first in line at the garden.

I’d add one more crowd beating tip if you are able to get there first thing when they open - once in, follow the signs straight to the lily pond, through the garden behind the house. Start your visit there while everyone else is still milling about the house and garden, and work your way back.

I’m guessing that you’ve already checked giverny.org for opening dates.

You can also rent a car and drive there. Easy and you can be first in line, then take your time getting back on your own schedule.

We wait for a sunny day to go to Giverny. Train tickets are more expensive, but don’t want to enjoy the garden in the rain. Museums in Paris are for rainy days. I love Paris and Monet’s gardens and art.

Why would train tickets to Vernon be more expensive on sunny days?

We rented a car for this very purpose back in 2016. It worked great. We did a one day rental, with a tiny European car - fun! We rented the car at Gare Montparnasse, and my memory is that it was not a bad location for getting into/out of Paris. We did have navigation on our phones. The rental allowed us to take our time with the tour and we had a nice leisurely lunch in the museum garden next door. It you have the Paris Museum Pass, the drive will also take you right by the exit for Versailles. We had time, so we "swung" in on our return. We were there for a very short visit, but the crowds had also largely gone down by the time we got there - so we kind of "cruised" through. It was a nice added bonus! I would not recommend this without the Paris Museum Pass though (as the wait time for tickets, etc... may be prohibitive). Giverny is wonderful - enjoy your visit!

We went on the end of our trip to Brittany and Normandy. When we left Honfluer, we headed up to Etretat and then drove over to Giverny. We stayed the evening at a BnB just down the street from Monet's Giverny. We had dinner with other couples at the BnB and shared tips with people who'd been there the day before. The next morning we walked down the street to Giverny, walked into the tour entrance near the back and headed directly to the lily ponds. When we were done, we had a picnic lunch, drove to the car rental in Vernon to return the car, walked to the train station and headed back to Paris.

Museums in Paris are for rainy days.

So are gardens. Personally, I love the look at gardens and plants in the rain. Sometimes a bright Sunshine just washes the colors out of everything.

Jules, I love how you did this! Picking up tips the evening before while dining a little while away, and then heading easily to the Garden in the morning — genius !

In 2019, I booked a ride online before I left the US. Was picked up at my right bank hotel in a minivan with 3 other visitors. Was dropped off to tour Giverny on my own for 3 hours (more than enough). And dropped back to my hotel. Was so much easier than car or train on my own. And I recall it being super reasonable.

Last minute train tickets to Vernon cost us more than tickets bought ahead of time. We pick a sunny day during our week long trip to Paris in May. Our 2 trips have included rain on several days so we adjust our schedule. Did this for Versailles also. I think basic train ticket can be purchased ahead of time and then validated when it is used. I didn’t understand this at the time. Will someone correct me if this is wrong. Thanks! Sunny days don’t make tickets cost more😀

Hoping to go to Giverny as well when we are in Paris. I read on their site that they highly recommend buying e-tickets in advance due to allowing a decreased number of visitors in during 2021.

Jules and JenS, I assume there is someone at the back door to sell or take tickets?