Paris Day Trip To Giverny: The Full Itinerary

Giverny- the sleepy town in the countryside about an hour and a half from Paris – and home to the renowned artist Monet. The best part about this Paris day trip idea is that no matter what time of year it is, Giverny is a magical place to visit. These photos were taken in the fall. Keep reading for everything you need to know for planning a day trip to Giverny from Paris.

How to Get to Giverny from Paris

By Car: If you have the luxury of having a car, this is by far the easiest and fastest way to get there. The drive is about 1.5 hours. There is free parking in town – one spot to route your map to is “Parking de la maison et des jardins de Claude Monet.”

If you don’t have a car, the next best option is to take the train.

Depart Paris from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon- Giverny. Normally there are multiple trains per day, but visit the SNCF website to confirm and buy your tickets.
From the Vernon-Giverny station, you can take a shuttle that drops you near Monet’s home and gardens for 5€ (10 € roundtrip). Shuttle times here.

Visit Giverny with an organized tour: The last option (my least favorite, but one we looked into when we thought we wouldn’t have a car and there was roadwork on the train line) was taking an organized tour from Paris. Tour options can be found here and here. The reason I would not recommend this – it’s expensive and one of the joys of a day trip to Giverny is meandering at a leisurely pace. You wouldn’t have time if you went with a tour.

Start with Coffee at Le Botanic Café

if you’re visiting in the morning start with coffee and pastries at “Le Botanic Café.” This barn-style spot has a charming locals’ countryside feel.

Address: 80 Rue Claude Monet, 27620 Giverny, France

Explore Monet’s House & Gardens

Monet’s House and Gardens are of course the main attraction. People do recommend buying tickets in advance as it can get very busy on weekends. You can check out the site here for various options. We went for the self-guided tour. However, we did overhear the guided tour and that had a lot of interesting tidbits.

TIP: plan to arrive right when they open OR about an hour/ 1. 5 hours before closing to beat the crowds.

Tickets:

Self-Guided: Free – 12€
Impressionism Museum + Monet’s Home and Gardens: 15.50€ – 24€

Where to Have Lunch in Giverny

For lunch, opt for “La Parenthèse” for a sit-down lunch that features local classic dishes. Everything was Incredibly fresh. If visiting in the spring or summer, it has a lovely outdoor seating space. If you’re short on time, go to “Au Coin du Paint’re” for more casual sandwiches and salads.

Meander Around Giverny

Lastly, spend the rest of your time walking around town- there are various art galleries and shops. Make sure you don’t miss the free gardens of the Museum of Impressionism. They’re home to Monet’s haystacks.