Paris to Giverny: Monet’s Gardens & House Private Day Trip

4.75

(138 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I honestly didn’t expect the kitchen tiles to be that blue. We’d just stepped into Monet’s house in Giverny after a sleepy drive from Paris (our guide, Camille, had stories about every village we passed—she could probably write a novel). The light inside was softer than I imagined, sort of yellowish, like old butter. There was this hush as we wandered through the rooms—except for one kid outside who kept yelling “Nymphéas!” at the pond. I grinned. Maybe he’ll be an artist too.

Walking out into the gardens, I caught the faintest smell of damp earth and something sweet—peonies? Camille handed us little brochures from Fondation Claude Monet but honestly, I barely read mine because she kept pointing out things: “That’s where Monet would set up his easel,” or “He argued with gardeners about those poppies.” The Japanese bridge looked smaller in real life but somehow more magical. I took about twenty photos and none of them felt right. You know how it is—sometimes you just have to stand there.

Later, we wandered through Giverny village itself. There were these old stone houses with wild roses climbing everywhere and a couple of tiny galleries tucked between cafés. Camille laughed when I tried to pronounce “Hotel Baudy” properly (I definitely butchered it). She told us American painters used to hang out there—imagine the gossip over coffee back then. On the way back to Paris, my shoes were muddy and my head full of color. Still think about that bridge sometimes.