giverny versailles tour

Both in one day????

that's what we were thinking but we are open to any suggestions...

First, skip the tours (unless you find somebody that can jam both into one day). You can do them both easily by yourself. I'm not fond of either place, but have shuffled enough friends to both to have a feel for how much time they seemed to need at each. The travel times: Paris (Lazare) to Venon by train, then bus to Giverny - - close to an hour and a half each way. Paris (Montparnasse) to Versailles - - thirty minutes plus a ten-minute walk each way. Vernon to Versailles - - about two hours on the train and the ten-minute walk (uneducated guess, never done it). Looking around time: Giverny - - two hours. Versailles - - three hours to all stinking day. I've driven all over France, and especially the Paris environs, for more years than I'll admit in public. I don't think I could beat the train times, so have no reason to suspect a bus could. All in one day looks something like five hours of travel time. Plus what ever it takes you to get to the departure station as well as from the return station. Call it six hours for grins. Two hours at Giverny puts it to eight, and four at Versailles ups it to twelve. You're going to bump closing and opening times somewhere. I think Monet's joint opens at 9:30 - - that makes it an 8:00 departure from Paris. If you're out by 11:30, you can get to Versailles by maybe 2:00 if you're lucky. Versailles closes at 6:30 that time of year. That would give you, notionally, four and a half hours. You'd probably be back in Paris by 7:00. You need to decide if that's enough time. Mid-may sunset is around 9:30. There ain't much time for lunch along the way. I don't see how you can compact it any more tightly.

I used ParisVisions for a "tour" of Giverny. It was actually just the bus ride there and entrance to the house & grounds. I liked the fact that I could wander around and enjoy it by myself without a guide yammering on. Reasonably priced and convenient. They are online and might still be located on the Rue de Rivoli (It was many years ago). I am going back this summer with a friend who hasn't been there and I think I'm going to try it by train and taxi to the estate. If you love Monet, it's well worth the visit. Very beautiful.

thank you thank you thank you...

ParisVision did a combination Versaillles-Giverny tour, starting with a few hours at Versailles and then driving to Giverny. The tour was guided at V. but we were turned lose at Giverny, which was nice. It was a real highlight for me, and the drive through the countryside near there was pretty. However, next time I'm doing G. on my own. I would have liked a lot more time at G. and the tour only hit the highlights at V. Try to go to G. the day after a holiday or weekend, it's less crowded. The tour was over a hundred Euro per person but to me it was worth it at the time, since I was a solo traveller. If you have good weather and like flowers, G. is a really fabulous experience, not to mention seeing Monet's house etc.

Just to clarify. If you go to Giverny by train, you take the train to Vernon and a bus meets the train and takes you to Giverny. No need to take a taxi from the train to Giverny. Giverny in mid-May should be spectacular.