Last Minute Tickets for Monet's Garden and the Train from Paris Round Trip

I bought my train tickets at the station the day I went. So obviously that’s possible.

They do sell walk up tickets and if you have to do that, I would be on the first train in the morning so that you are at the ticket office when it opens

The train between Paris St Lazare and Vernon (for Giverny) is a TER regional train. They won't sell the train tickets out and the prices will not change (except in rare circumstances perhaps such as a special promotion).

No need to buy in advance for money saving as you might for an inter-city or TGV train which are generally priced using dynamic pricing algorithms.

Easy to book the train on the SNCF app.

Monet Garden ticket in advance may save you standing in line at the site (as noted above.). Per the website: "Online booking is not mandatory but is recommended on weekends and bank holidays." Note that this link suggests checking the train schedules as works are in process. https://claudemonetgiverny.fr/en/useful-information/

Ohh, great time to go! I went last October and just booked the train on the SNCF app the day before. The friend I went with just bought hers at the station. Be sure to download the app on both your and your husband's phones.

We'd both bought our Giverny tickets the day before.

Depending on what other things you are going to book, I'd try to do Giverny on a weekday and early on in your trip if the weather is pleasant.

I also recommend downloading the BOLT app. They were behind on the shuttle buses at the Vernon train station and my friend used the app to call a taxi for the transit to Giverny.

I bought my ticket at a department store(?) in the city a day or two before I went. It was a combo ticket with the Orangerie, which we used when we went back in December. This was in 2018, so they might not offer that anymore. It was also late September, and it was a great time to visit. Enjoy!

Such great responses!

Just being able to show up at Gare St. Lazare is a relief. Also, I'm wise now to not going on the weekend or bank holidays. I'll have the right apps on my phone. If I buy the MG tickets a few days early, can I just show that email confirmation at MG or do they need to be printed out?

The tickets for Monet's Garden do NOT need to be printed out. I try to do a screen shot of any tickets so I have them in a "Photo album" for that trip AND add to my Notes app on my phone in case I can't get service somewhere.

Do look at the train schedule closer to the time. I think I took the 10:11 to Vernon which was a direct train (other times had a change somewhere) and the 16:51 back to Paris.

Thanks, Pam. So you just show your screen shot of your tickets?
I will have to look at the train schedule for the return to Paris, too. I like to have time to just be in the sweet town and to have lunch at Baudy.

Yes, the screenshots work everywhere. The ticket person may need to widen the view so they can scan the bar code but otherwise fine.

And yes, give yourselves some time to walk the Main Street at least to the church. Did you all get there last time?

The train tickets are no problem; you can buy them that morning at the station. But DEFINITELY by tickets for the gardens ahead of time. Try to avoid weekends, and check that the day is not a holiday that you know nothing about. When I went last year, it was a holiday, and people were on line for several hours!

Pam, we did get to see the graves of Monet and of his family but didn't have a chance to visit the church. Thank you for the reminder because I do want to see the inside. Tjordan, about those holidays that I might not know about--I'll have to google French holidays so that I'm not caught unaware.

There aren't any French holidays in late September.

(In fact, there, aren't any French holidays between Assumption in mid-August and Toussaint on November 1!)

Excellent. Thanks Kim.