If you're a lover of Impressionism, gardens, colors and Monet, this guided tour of Giverny is for you! You'll discover how Claude Monet conceived his flower and water gardens as a veritable work of art.
Giverny, this is where Claude Monet lived and worked for 43 years. It has become a must-see destination for anyone wishing to understand his work and creative process.
Visit the gardens
Visit gardens of Giverny are divided into two parts: the flower garden, called the Clos Normand, and the water garden. The former, laid out in rectilinear parterres, is brimming with varied, colorful flowers.
Nasturtiums, roses, peonies and many other varieties change with the seasons. The garden was designed by Monet himself, with particular attention to the arrangement of colors.
Visit water garden, across the road, is undoubtedly one of Giverny's best-known features. This Japanese-inspired garden features a pond surrounded by weeping willows, bamboo and iris. The famous Japanese bridge, The wisteria-covered path crosses the water lily pond. These flowers are at the heart of many of Monet's paintings, and this garden offers a clear perspective on his inspiration.
Claude Monet's house
Visit Monet's house is preserved as it was when he lived there. You can immerse yourself in the place and its history... imagine the artist going back and forth between the interior and the gardens, his eight children running between the rooms.
The rooms are colorful and decorated with objects chosen by the artist himself. The reconstruction of the rooms in the house was designed to be as faithful as possible, using 80% furniture and objects that were already present on site.
You can also see the blue lounge, It's a place to relax, a place where you can better understand his way of life. The house's windows offer a direct view of the gardens, a constant reminder of the source of inspiration that surrounded him every day.
The Salon Bleu provides access to Monet's first studio, where you can admire a replica of some 60 paintings. You can imagine the painter in the midst of his works, in his home.
The Water Lilies
Visit Water lilies are probably Monet's most famous works. They depict the water lilies in his garden, painted at different times of day and in varying light conditions. Monet worked on this series for almost 30 years, seeking to capture the infinite nuances of water and reflections. Some of the canvases are gigantic, like those exhibited at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris.
We also offer a guided tour of the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris.
Monet was very proud of his garden, and sought to depict its astonishing, constant variations in an abstract way. In his canvases, neither sky nor horizon: just water, water lilies and reflections. Surprising works, like close-ups of this captivating nature.
When do the water lilies bloom at Giverny?
Visit water lilies start flowering in May and continue until September. The best time to see them in full bloom is generally between June and August.
However, each season offers a different landscape in the gardens of Giverny. Spring brings an explosion of color with tulips and irises, while summer sees the blossoming of water lilies and roses.
If you want to see the water garden in all its splendor, it's best to come in the early morning or late afternoon, when the light is soft and the reflections in the pond are most spectacular.
Please specify your preferences when booking your guided tour.
Monet's best-known paintings
You're bound to have heard of Monet and his Water Lilies. But other paintings are magnificent and famous the world over.
For example Impression, Rising Sun. It depicts a sunrise over the port of Le Havre and illustrates the way Monet captured the atmosphere of a place rather than the exact details.
This work inspired the name of the Impressionist movement.
Another well-known painting, London's Houses of Parliament at sunset.
In the early 1900s, Monet travelled to London, where he painted a series of pictures of the same size and from the same vantage point.
Poppies, painted in 1873 when the artist moved to Argenteuil with his family. Or La Pie, the most famous of Monet's hundred or so snow-covered paintings.
Guided tour
Your tour guide will tell you all about the history and most remarkable details of Claude Monet and his home in Giverny. Quench your thirst for knowledge.
Contemplate the gardens as the painter did in his day.
Contact us for more information and to book your visit with Guides Tourisme Services.