We will be on a riverboat cruise in August that includes a morning excursion from Vernon to Giverny, which I believe is quite close. We will also be in Paris for 5 days before the cruise. Wondering if it’s worth booking a half day excursion to Giverny from Paris, or if that would be a waste of precious time. Friends have said you don’t need a lot of time for Monet’s home and garden. Thoughts from those who have been there?
Posted by
California USA
3958 posts
I think you only need one excursion to see the home and gardens. We typically spend about 2 hours there.
Posted by
USA
125 posts
2 hours is enough time as it's quite compact yet beautiful!! Don't miss it.
Posted by
Paris
6916 posts
Definitely do the excursion from the boat in Vernon.
If you do it from Paris, round trip travel time exceeds visiting time (unless you add La Roche Guyon, which I personally find more interesting than Giverny - in a totally different vein - but which requires your own transport).
Lots of questions about Giverny lately it seems!
Posted by
Paris, France
112 posts
It would be a waste of time to do a day trip from Paris to Giverny if your boat tour is already stopping in Vernon and offers an excursion to Monet's gardens in Giverny. I have no idea how much your boat company will charge you for an excursion from Vernon to Giverny but right next to the train station in Vernon is a place where you can rent bikes/scooters and take the 5km bike trail from the train station to Monet's house. There are also buses from the train station that are timed with the arrival of trains from Paris that bring you to Monet's house and you can find that info on the website for Monet's house:
https://location-velo-vernon.fr/
http://fondation-monet.com/en/
Not only can you take the bike trail from Vernon to Giverny but there are lots of lovely country roads to cycle on in that area and below are some useful websites for cycling in that area:
https://www.laseineavelo.com/cycle-route/vernon-les-andelys
https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/explore-giverny-by-bike/
https://www.francevelotourisme.com/destinations/paris-ile-de-france-a-velo/seine-velo-paris-giverny
https://www.komoot.com/fr-fr/guide/1496040/itineraires-et-pistes-cyclables-autour-de-giverny
Posted by
OP
27 posts
Thanks all for the quick replies! The boat excursion is at no additional cost so that seems the way to go. It seems close so we might even just walk back to the boat.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13978 posts
If you have time to walk some, walk thru the village to the churchyard where Monet and family members are buried. There is also a poignant memorial to a Lancaster Bomber Crew that was shot down near by around DDay, all crew killed. A crumpled propeller from the plane is part of the memorial to those who liberated France. My mind is always on Monet and art when I visit there forgetting it's maybe 100 miles to some of the DDay landing areas from there.