A pilgrimage to the home of one of Impressionism’s founders
This unique place offers a fabulous introduction to Normandy’s gardens and attracts visitors passionate about painting, flowers and colour more generally. The Jardin de Claude Monet, famed for its water lily ponds, its Japanese bridge and further exuberant features, reveals its many secretive aspects to you. It is open year-round. In spring, the tulip displays stand out. These are followed by irises, then roses in June… but the explosions of joyous colour around the garden continue on. After exploring it, enjoy a tour inside Monet’s colourful home.
Custom route
Custom route
5 La Roche-Guyon / Vernon
Sticking by the river, on this Seine à Vélo stage, follow in the footsteps of the great painter Claude Monet. Take a last look back at the Château de La Roche-Guyon and the charming village around it before heading off on Monet’s trail. This bucolic waterside stage incites contemplation. You leave the Ile de France Region for Normandy and the département (county) of Eure, heading for Giverny, then Vernon, with wonderful discoveries to make, not just from the Impressionist period, but also from medieval times. In Giverny, a tour of Claude Monet’s house and of the art museum, the Musée des Impressionnismes, are a must. Vernon’s museum also contains fine Impressionist works, including two original Claude Monet canvases. Along this stage, try the excellent local produce on offer, from the Château de la Roche-Guyon’s kitchen garden to the Vergers de Giverny orchards.
6 Vernon / Les Andelys
Leaving Vernon, its Seine-side quays and the Vieux Moulin, a picturesque watermill, echoes of Impressionist settings and colours are still easy to pick up. Continue west along the Seine towpaths, once vital to commercial trading along the river. Passing lakes and sand-extracting works, you also encounter medieval Norman history, in the form of the mighty Château-Gaillard, dominating the town of Les Andelys since the 12th century.