Day trip · Normandy, northwest of Paris
Monet’s house and gardens close for the winter on November 1, 2026. Here is how to catch the last days by train or tour, and how to plan a spring 2027 visit for when the gardens reopen.
Updated October 19, 2026 · Prices checked October 19, 2026 · Tour prices refresh daily
Photo: Veronica Reverse / Unsplash
Giverny is a small Normandy village with a world-famous garden: the house where Claude Monet lived and worked, the flower garden he planted in front of it, and the water-lily pond he painted again and again. It is an easy half day from Paris, and it is seasonal. The house and gardens are open daily from April 1 to November 1, 2026, and then close for the winter.
The 2027 dates have not been announced; recent seasons have opened around the start of April, but treat that as a pattern, not a promise. If you are reading this in late October, you still have a few days. Otherwise, this is a page for planning spring. Below are the tours worth booking, the do-it-yourself route by train and shuttle, and what is in bloom when.
N° 01Short on time
1erSmall groupBest overall
Blue Fox Travel
A half day in a minivan of eight or fewer, with a guide-driver, your entry ticket, and stops at Monet’s grave and Giverny’s church, all in about four and a half hours.
Free cancellation
From$148.76
per person
2eBest value
City Wonders
The most-reviewed Giverny trip we found: a coach from Paris, a tour leader, and your entry ticket. Inside, the house and gardens are self-guided by app, so bring a phone and earphones.
Free cancellation
From$73.24
per person
3eSmall groupBest for art lovers
Blue Fox Travel
Monet’s gardens in the morning and Van Gogh’s Auvers-sur-Oise in the afternoon, in a small group of eight or fewer with all entrance fees included. It was the highest-rated Giverny tour we compared.
Free cancellation
From$251.76
per person
We may earn a commission when you book through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It never decides our picks. Tour prices are Viator’s US-dollar from-prices, refreshed with ratings every day; they change by date, and Viator may show your local currency. How we make money.
N° 02Côte à côte
These tours run only while the gardens are open. Prices were read for late-October 2026 and spring 2027 dates; spring prices are indicative until booking opens for those dates. Prices shown are the lowest listed option.
| Tour | Format | Length | Reviews | From | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giverny Small-Group Half Day with Monet’s GardensBlue Fox TravelTravelers who want a small group without giving up a whole day Free cancellation | Minivan · small group | 4.5 hours | 4.762,001 reviews | $148.76 | Check |
| Giverny Half-Day: Monet’s House & GardensCity WondersBudget travelers who want the cheapest well-reviewed Giverny trip Free cancellation | Coach · group | 6–11.5 hours | 4.703,269 reviews | $73.24 | Check |
| Giverny & Van Gogh’s Auvers-sur-Oise in One DayBlue Fox TravelArt lovers who want both Monet and Van Gogh in one day Free cancellation | Minivan · small group | 10 hours | 4.90435 reviews | $251.76 | Check |
| Giverny Bike Tour with Picnic StopFat Tire ToursActive travelers who want countryside and a picnic, not just the gardens Free cancellation | Bike · group | 9 hours | 4.72543 reviews | $136.18 | Check |
| Giverny Small Group by SUV with Hotel PickupCome and GoCouples who want hotel pickup and a tiny group at a mid-range price Free cancellation | Car · small group | 5–7 hours | 4.6959 reviews | $251.76 | Check |
| Giverny & Versailles in One Day from ParisCity WondersShort-stay visitors who want Versailles and Monet's Giverny in a single day (April–early November only) Free cancellation | Coach · group | 11.5 hours | 4.561,126 reviews | $154.49 | Check |
| Private Giverny Tour with Art-Historian GuideParismatic TourArt lovers and families who want a private, expert-led visit Free cancellation | Car · private | 5 hours | 4.72160 reviews | $492.07lowest listed option | Check |
N° 03Choosing
Giverny is easy to reach alone, but it is a three-part journey: a train from Saint-Lazare, a shuttle bus from Vernon, and the gardens themselves, where online tickets are strongly recommended. A tour folds all of that into one booking and a door-to-door ride. Whether that is worth paying for depends on how you like to travel.
N° 04En train
Paris Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny takes about 45 to 50 minutes, with trains roughly every hour. Vernon is in Normandy, outside the Île-de-France region, so the €2.55 Paris-region ticket does not cover it. Buy an SNCF regional (TER) ticket on SNCF Connect or at the station instead.
From Vernon station, the shuttle bus to Giverny costs €5 one way or €10 round trip and takes about 15 minutes over roughly 6 km. Its timetable is matched to the trains, and it runs during the garden season. You can also rent a bike at Vernon station and follow the signposted Seine à Vélo cycle route, or walk it in about an hour.
Book your garden ticket online before you go. On-site tickets are sold daily, but the official site warns of long waits once the online quota is reached. For more trips you can do by rail, see our guide to day trips from Paris by train.
N° 05Tarifs 2026
Official prices for the 2026 season, which ends November 1. Prices for 2027 have not been published.
| Ticket | Adult | Child 7–17 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monet’s house & gardens (on site) | €13 | €7 | Students €7, disabled visitors €6, under-7s free |
| Monet’s house & gardens (official e-ticket) | €13.50 | €7.50 | E-tickets bought from May 1, 2026 cannot be changed or refunded |
| With the Musée des impressionnismes | €25 | — | Combined ticket, sold on site only |
| With the Musée Marmottan Monet | €27 | — | Combined ticket, sold on site only |
| With the Musée de l’Orangerie | €25.50 | — | Combined ticket, sold on site only |
| Musée des impressionnismes Giverny | €12 | Free under 18 | Reduced rate €9 |
Checked October 19, 2026. Bags are checked at the entrance; cabin-size bags up to 55 × 35 × 20 cm are allowed, and there is no luggage storage. The house is not wheelchair accessible, but the gardens are. Source: claudemonetgiverny.fr, useful information.
N° 06Saison
The garden is planted so that something is always flowering from April to October, but each month has its moment:
Whatever the month, go on a weekday if you can: the regional tourist board suggests a weekday in spring or mid-autumn for fewer crowds. In 2026 the gardens open at 10am, with last admission at 5:30pm.
N° 07Bon à savoir
01
Online booking is “highly recommended” by the gardens themselves. Once the online quota is gone, the line for on-site tickets can be long.
02
Bags are checked at the entrance. Cabin-size bags (55 × 35 × 20 cm) are allowed, and there is nowhere to leave luggage.
03
On the City Wonders coach trips, Monet’s house and gardens are self-guided by app, so you need your own phone and earphones.
04
The village’s art museum runs on a similar season. In 2026 it shows Daniel Buren’s “Plantations” until November 1, and entry is free for everyone on the first Sunday of November, which this year is the last day of the season.
05
The Monet family graves are by Sainte-Radegonde church in the village. Several small-group tours include a stop there.
06
The gardens are wheelchair accessible but the house is not. Small-group tours note gravel paths and steps, and some set a minimum age of seven.
N° 08Combo
Giverny takes half a day, so it pairs well. The classic combination is Versailles: one coach tour covers both, with entry to each included. It is a long day of about eleven and a half hours, and Monet’s house is self-guided by app.
City Wonders
Free cancellation
From$154.49
per person
For art lovers, the better pairing is Auvers-sur-Oise, with Van Gogh’s house and the fields he painted, on the small-group tour we pick above. And if you would rather stay a night, Rouen, the cathedral city Monet painted in series, makes an easy base for Giverny and the Normandy coast. See our Versailles guide for the palace on its own, or browse all day trips from Paris.
N° 09Good to know
Monet’s house and gardens are open daily from April 1 to November 1, 2026, and then close until spring. The 2027 opening date has not been announced yet; recent seasons have opened around the start of April.
Take a train from Paris Saint-Lazare to Vernon-Giverny, about 45 to 50 minutes, then the shuttle bus to Giverny (€5 one way, €10 round trip, about 15 minutes). The €2.55 Paris-region ticket does not cover Vernon, so buy an SNCF regional ticket.
The gardens recommend an hour and a half to two hours for the house and gardens. With the train and shuttle, or a half-day tour, that makes about half a day from Paris.
The water lilies flower in the pond from June to September. May is the month for wisteria, June for irises and roses, and April for tulips.
If you want the logistics handled, yes: a tour replaces the train, the shuttle, and the ticket queue with one booking. If you are comfortable on French trains, going alone is simple and lets you linger, as long as you book the garden ticket online.
In 2026 an adult ticket for Monet’s house and gardens is €13 on site or €13.50 as an official e-ticket. Children 7 to 17 pay €7 (€7.50 online), and under-7s are free.
Yes, on a combined coach tour, but only during the garden season, and it is a long day of roughly eleven and a half hours. With two days, visit them separately.
N° 10Booking.com
Search live prices for the areas that make this trip easiest.
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