In my head, this idea sounds lovely and romantic: take the train to Giverny, get off of the train, gather a picnic lunch somewhere ideally near the train station, rent bikes and ride to Giverny for the morning/afternoon and have a picnic. My questions is--IS this lovely and romantic, or are we going to end up huffing and puffing four miles uphill on the bikes? and/or is there anything else i've not thought of and/or do not know that would keep this from being a lovely, romantic idea? We're in moderate shape--I'd say a tiny bit better than 'average american' (and that's not saying a lot!).
Posted by
Lake Oswego, Oregon
1329 posts
Tracy - The train doesn't go to Giverny, it goes to Vernon. You probably know that but just thought I'd clarify. If you don't do the picnic, have lunch at the Hotel Baudy. Great food and people watching.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Actually Steve,, just to clarify,, Fat Tire does not include the lunch, they do stop at a market where you purchase your own picnic and then the bike tour stops for lunch on the banks of the river.
I do highly recommend this tour in particular,, very peaceful.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Actually, it's not fairly level, it's dead level except for a slight slope to get on the bridge. There is not a countour line for miles. The village is on an ancient flood plain.
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
The ride is flat but when we arrived on a Wednesday in May at around 2-3pm there was a lot of traffic between Vernon and Giverny. You should see if they have helmets. Once you get into Giverny the cycling would be nice though. There may be a bike path, I'm not sure.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
There is a bike path, I have taken the tour. There is an old decommissioned rail line that follows the river.. and it is lovely. Only pedestrian and bike traffic 90 % of the trip. You do walk about a block and a half to get bikes. Then cycle on quiet streets to go to market. Then cycle about 5-10 minutes through what I considered very light traffic to picnic site( which is just over aq small bridge). After that its all level and off road , until near end where there is a slight rise on the street that leads up to the Gardens.
Of all the Fat Tire Tours I have taken( and yes, I have taken them all) this is the one I would recommend for younger children and elderly as it is easiest and safest in my book.We even had a 3 generation family on our tour,, so if granny from Minnesota can do it,, I think most anyone can! LOL
Posted by
San Francisco, California, USA
446 posts
It's even possible to walk to the Monet museum, if you like hiking. About 5 km from the Vernon train station. Takes about an hour and a half.
Posted by
Placerville, CA, USA
15 posts
There is another alternative. Walk to Giverney.
Leave the railway station, turn left and follow the street to the river. Cross the river, go around the round-a-bout turn right at the church to an alley on your right past the church. That is a rail-to-trail paved route. It goes all the way to Giverney. It is level all the way. It takes about an hour.
If you rent a bike, use the path to stay off the highway.
There is also a hiking trail about a mile down the path. It goes up a private driveway to the left and them up a trail to the top of the bluff. It drops into the back of Giverney. You then wander down the street until you get to Rue Monet, where you turn left to go to Monet's house.
The view from the bluff trail are very impressionistic. I'm doing the trial for the third time in a couple of weeks.
There is a book, called "walking in France that has complete directions.
Jeff