Key points before booking
- Open from April 1st to November 1st only, daily from 10 AM to 6 PM, last entry at 5:30 PM—nothing to see the rest of the year. Dates and hours.
- The water lilies bloom from late June to September, not in April; in May, it’s the wisteria on the Japanese bridge. Blooming calendar.
- Allow 1.5 to 2 hours on-site, and come at opening or after 4 PM: the house is small and packed between 11 AM and 4 PM. Best time to visit, best month.
- Saint-Lazare → Vernon-Giverny train in 45 minutes, then a 15-minute shuttle; the Navigo pass doesn’t cover this route. How to get there.
- Every ticket booked in advance includes skip-the-line access, and excursions from Paris include house and garden entry. The six options compared.
What’s included in the half-day excursion from Paris
The most booked option (rated 4.5 from 3,393 reviews): about 6 hours door-to-door, including 75 minutes each way by coach.
On-site
- Self-guided tour of the Fondation Monet house, about 30 minutes
- Water garden, Japanese bridge and pond, about 45 minutes
- Free time in the village, about 80 minutes
- 10-minute photo stop at Monet’s tomb in Sainte-Radegonde
Included in the package
- Pre-booked admission to the house and gardens
- Air-conditioned coach with English-speaking guide on board
- Self-guided audio guide app in 10 languages
- Hotel pickup and drop-off depending on the option chosen; free cancellation up to 24 hours before
The tour itinerary, in order
What you’ll see in Giverny, step by step, no matter which package you choose.
The route is set by the layout: you enter through the Clos Normand, cross under the road to reach the water garden, return to the house, and exit via the former studio. Once you leave, there’s no re-entry.
- Entrance — Ticket check for timed-entry passes; pre-purchased tickets use the skip-the-line entrance at 1 bis sente Leroy. A 1-hour grace period is allowed after your reserved time.
- Clos Normand — The flower garden in front of the house: the grand alley, its arches, geometric paths, and over a hundred varieties that change every month.
- Underground passage — The tunnel connecting the two gardens beneath the road. Wheelchairs bypass it via the main gate.
- Water garden — The green Japanese bridge, the water lily pond (around 70 varieties), weeping willows, bamboo, and wisteria. The inspiration for some 250 *Water Lilies* paintings created between 1897 and 1926.
- The house — The blue sitting room, the pantry, the studio-sitting room, the yellow dining room, the kitchen with Rouen blue tiles, the upstairs bedrooms, and the 243 Japanese prints. Stairs and narrow rooms mean it can get crowded here.
- Water Lilies studio and gift shop — The large 1915 studio is open for visits; the original studio houses the gift shop, which is where you exit.
- The village — Rue Claude-Monet, the Hôtel Baudy, the Musée des Impressionnismes (a 300 m walk, admission not included), and Monet’s tomb at the Sainte-Radegonde church cemetery, about a 10-minute walk away.
The Fondation recommends about 1.5 hours on-site; with the tomb and village, allow half a day. Full timing details are in how much time to allow.
Booking in four steps
Choose your package
From Paris by coach, minibus, or bike; on-site guide; combined day trip with Versailles; or private car. See the comparison below.
Check availability
The module below displays live dates and time slots from GetYourGuide.
Book
Instant confirmation. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before for five packages, 3 days before for the private tour.
Meet up
At the designated meeting point shown on your confirmation, with your ticket on your phone. For the on-site tour, it’s at the Les Nymphéas restaurant, opposite the entrance.
Availability for the half-day excursion from Paris
The most popular option: departure from the 17th arrondissement, return about 6 hours later, admission included. Dates are displayed in real time.
Which Giverny tour suits you?
Three distinct options: the on-site guided tour, the half-day coach excursion, or the combined visit with Versailles.
| Giverny: guided tour of Monet’s house and gardens | Most popularFrom Paris: Monet’s House & Gardens in Giverny (half-day) | From Paris: Giverny and Palace of Versailles, full-day guided tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departure | On-site at Les Nymphéas restaurant | Paris 17th, Notre-Dame-de-Compassion church | Paris 17th, Place du Général-Kœnig |
| Duration | 2 hours | Approx. 6 h | 11:30 AM |
| Group | Up to 10 people | Air-conditioned coach | Air-conditioned coach |
| Guide | Certified local guide, in French or English | English-speaking guide on board, audio guide in 10 languages | English-speaking guide at the château, audio guide in 10 languages |
| Skip-the-line access | Yes, via a separate entrance | Pre-booked entry, included | Skip-the-line at Versailles; Giverny entry included |
| Who it’s for | Those arriving by train or car | Those leaving Paris without a car | Those with just one day for both |
| Rating | 4.7 · 765 reviews | 4.5 · 3,393 reviews | 4.5 · 1,526 reviews |
| See → | Book → | See → |
Photo gallery
Giverny in six images
The two gardens, the house, and the village—in the order you visit them.
Six ways to visit Giverny compared
Two coach departures from Paris, a minibus, an on-site guided tour, a day by bike, and a private car. Ratings and review counts are from GetYourGuide.
Most
bookedFrom Paris: Giverny, Monet’s house and gardens (half-day)
Small
groupFrom Paris: guided minibus tour to Monet’s gardens
On-siteGiverny: guided tour of Monet’s house and gardens
CombinedFrom Paris: Giverny and Palace of Versailles, full-day guided tour
By
bikeFrom Paris: Monet’s gardens by bike and picnic break
Private
From Paris: private tour of Giverny with chauffeur
What visitors say
Excerpts from GetYourGuide reviews, one per option, translated without edits.
Well organized, friendly and knowledgeable guide; the skip-the-line ticket alone was worth the trip.
The tomb, the house, and the gardens—we learned so much about his life.
We got so much more out of the visit than if we’d gone alone.
We loved both sites; a little more time in Giverny would have been nice.
My favorite part of the trip—cycling along the river.
Our guide Helen, so cultured, and our driver Beckhan, so attentive.
Ratings and review counts are GetYourGuide’s figures for each operator. Read our detailed reviews ›
Quick answers before booking
The five questions I’m asked most often on the shuttle.
Is Giverny worth it?
Yes, from late April to mid-October—if you arrive at opening or after 4 PM. On a July Saturday at 1 PM, the house is a queue. My full answer: Is Giverny worth it?
How much time should I spend there?
The Fondation Monet Giverny recommends about 1.5 hours; allow 2 hours if exploring independently, longer if you include the village and the tomb. A typical itinerary is in how long to visit.
What’s the best time to go?
10 AM with a timed-entry ticket, or after 4 PM for the low-angle light on the water lily pond. Tour buses arrive between 10:30 AM and 11:30 AM. See best time and season to visit.
When can I see the water lilies?
From late June to September, peaking in July–August, preferably in the morning or afternoon—flowers close by late afternoon. Details in when the water lilies bloom.
Is the Navigo pass valid?
No. Vernon is in Normandy, outside the Île-de-France region; you’ll need a TER train ticket from Saint-Lazare. Explanation in Navigo pass and Giverny.
These dates don’t work for you?
Browse other visits to Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny and find one that fits your schedule—immediate confirmation and free cancellation on most options.
Monet’s house and gardens, explained
I’ve been guiding groups at Giverny for fifteen years, and every season I see the same disappointments: visitors who come “to see the water lilies” on April 20th, families who discover the queue outside the house at 1 p.m., Parisians who learn in Vernon that their Navigo pass isn’t valid here. This guide helps avoid those three mistakes.
What you’ll see, in detail
The estate spans two plots separated by the road. In front of the house is the Clos Normand: a flower garden with straight paths, the grand alley under its arches, thousands of plants, and over a hundred varieties that bloom in succession from April to October. On the other side, accessed by an underground passage, is the water garden that Monet had dug in 1893 beyond the old railway line: the green Japanese bridge, the pond enlarged around 1901–1910, the willows, the bamboo, and about 70 varieties of water lilies. The pink house with green shutters is then explored: the blue sitting room, the yellow dining room, the kitchen with Rouen blue tiles, the upstairs bedrooms, and 243 Japanese prints hung in nearly every room. You exit through the gift shop, set up in the first studio. The large *Water Lilies* studio, built in 1915, is also open to visitors.
The best time slot, no detours
The site is open from April 1st to November 1st, every day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5:30 p.m. The rest of the year, the gates are closed, and there’s nothing to negotiate. For the month, it depends on what you want to see: tulips, daffodils, and irises in April–May; wisteria on the bridge in May; roses and poppies in June; water lilies from late June to September, peaking in July–August; dahlias and nasturtiums in the grand alley in September–October. The last week of October is the quietest I know, with soft light all day. For the time, only two choices: 10 a.m. sharp with a timed ticket, or after 4 p.m. Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., from mid-May to late August, the site is at full capacity, and coaches arrive in waves between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The month-by-month details are on the best time to visit page.
The water garden early in the morning
This is the advice I repeat the most. If you enter at 10 a.m., don’t follow the crowd toward the house: cross the Clos Normand without stopping, take the underground passage, and walk around the pond while the paths are still empty. Water lily flowers open in the morning and close in the late afternoon; each one lasts three to five days. Then head back to the house, and return to the Clos Normand flowerbeds when everyone has gone for lunch.
The house is small
Let’s be clear: it’s a family home, not a château. The corridors are narrow, the staircases too, and the route is one-way. When two coaches unload at the same time, visiting the house becomes a slow-moving queue. It’s not wheelchair-accessible, unlike the water garden, which you can reach via the main gate, avoiding the tunnel. There’s no cloakroom; luggage must fit in cabin-sized bags, and any exit is final. Picnicking is not allowed on the premises, nor are painting or drawing; the meadow near the car park and the banks of the Epte are just a short walk away. The rest of the rules are in tickets and skip-the-line.
Train or excursion?
By train: from Paris Saint-Lazare, take the TER to Rouen and get off at Vernon-Giverny in about 45 minutes, then take the shuttle (around fifteen minutes, with schedules timed to match the trains), rent a bike at the station, or walk for 1 hour 15 minutes along the greenway. The Navigo pass doesn’t cover this journey, as Vernon is in Normandy. This option gives you the freedom to choose your time and pace, which is the key argument for arriving at 10 a.m. By car, allow 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 via the A13, exit Vernon/Giverny, with free parking. The coach excursion from Paris takes care of everything for you, including entry, but drops you off at the busiest time of day. It suits those who don’t want to deal with connections, not those who want the water garden to themselves. The three departure options are on excursion from Paris, and train details are on how to get to Giverny.
What a guide brings
The gardens speak for themselves, but the house does not. A guide explains why the dining room is yellow, who Alice Hoschedé was and why ten people lived here, how cataracts turned Monet’s final canvases red, and what Clemenceau was doing at the funeral in December 1926. They also take you through a separate entrance: the on-site guided tour, limited to ten people and given in French or English, lasts 2 hours and is reserved for those who arrive independently. On excursions, the guide is English-speaking, and the commentary at Giverny is provided via an audio guide app. Compare and read visitor feedback on the guided tour of Giverny and in our reviews.
The village and the grave
Save half an hour for rue Claude-Monet. The Hôtel Baudy, where the American painters stayed, is still there; the Musée des Impressionnismes, 300 metres away, isn’t included in any of the six options. At the end of the village, a ten-minute walk away, the cemetery of Sainte-Radegonde church is home to the Hoschedé-Monet vault, where Monet has rested since December 1926 after a civil ceremony. Excursions make a brief stop here; if you come by train, visit at the end of your trip, when it’s quiet. The full story of the family and the legacy entrusted by Michel Monet to the Académie des Beaux-Arts is in Monet in Giverny.
Claire Vasseur, guide-lecturer in Vernon.
Frequently asked questions
Is Giverny worth it?
Yes, if you visit between late April and mid-October and avoid the 11 AM–4 PM slot. In April, tulips and daffodils are in bloom, but not the water lilies; in midsummer, the house is packed at midday. With a 10 AM timed ticket or an arrival after 4 PM, both gardens are enjoyable. My full answer is in Is Giverny worth it?
How long does a visit to the Giverny gardens take?
About 1.5 hours, according to the Fondation Monet Giverny—1.5 to 2 hours independently for the Clos Normand, the water garden, and the house. The on-site guided tour lasts 2 hours. From Paris, the half-day excursion takes about 6 hours door-to-door. A minute-by-minute breakdown is in how long to visit.
What’s the best time to visit Giverny?
At opening, 10 a.m., with a timed ticket, or late afternoon after 4 p.m. (last admission 5:30 p.m.). Crowds peak between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., from mid-May to late August, on weekends and public holidays. The month matters as much as the hour: see when to visit Giverny.
What’s the admission fee for Monet’s Garden in Giverny?
The ticket grants access to the house and both gardens; there’s a reduced rate for young people and students, and free entry for the youngest visitors. Day trips from Paris include admission in their price, and up-to-date rates are displayed in real time in the booking module. Booking ahead gives you skip-the-line access. What the ticket includes and its conditions: tickets and skip-the-line.
When do the water lilies bloom in Giverny?
From late June to September, peaking in July and August. The nymphaea flowers open in the morning and afternoon, closing at the end of the day, and each bloom lasts about 3 to 5 days. In May, it’s the wisteria on the Japanese bridge that makes for the perfect photo. The month-by-month calendar is in the blooming of the water lilies.
Is the Navigo Pass valid for traveling to Giverny?
No. The Navigo Pass only covers the Île-de-France region, and Vernon-Giverny is in Normandy, in the Eure department. You’ll need a TER train ticket from Paris Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny (about 45 minutes), then a 15-minute shuttle or a rented bike from the station. Alternatives are in Navigo Pass and Giverny.
What is the closing date for Giverny?
The house and gardens close on the evening of November 1st and reopen on April 1st. During the season, they’re open every day without exception, including public holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The last week of October, with its autumn colors, is the quietest. See opening dates.
Where can I picnic in Giverny?
Not within the grounds: picnicking, painting, and drawing are prohibited, and any exit is final. Nearby options include the meadow by the parking lot, the banks of the Seine and Epte rivers, or the market in Vernon for supplies. The day-long bike trip from Paris even includes a picnic outside the grounds. My recommendations: where to picnic in Giverny.
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