Monet in Paris and Giverny

If you are at all interested in gardening or Monet’s waterlily series, then you owe it to yourself to visit La Musee de L’Orangerie, the small Paris museum that houses his water lily paintings, and Monet's garden home in Giverny, an hour outside of Paris.

Lilypads in Giverny  © 2012, Joan Klau

Quite possibly my favorite art on display in the world, Monet's Les Nymphaes (Water Lilies) are installed at La Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris, as Monet designed them for display.  Housed in the king's old greenhouse, Les Nymphaes hang in just two rooms with four panels in each, with the ceiling scrimmed so that natural light falls on the paintings. As clouds pass, the light and therefore the paintings change. I actually prefer and recommend going on a partly sunny day so you can witness how a passing cloud can change the light and therefore paintings. You could be in and out in 30 minutes if you're short on time, but I have easily spent two hours watching how the light changes each panel of Les Nymphaes.  If you like Impressionist art, there's more Impressionist and post-Impressionist art in the basement level (and the Musee D'Orsay is a short 10 minute walk to the other side of the Seine). It is one of my happy places. Gorgeous. Even if you can't get out to Giverny, do not miss L'Orangerie.

Les Nymphaes in the Musee de l'Orangerie, © 2011, Joan Klau

Giverny is the small village 45 minutes north of Paris where Monet lived and painted his water lilies as well as many garden paintings. The Fondation Monet maintains his home and gardens which you can tour from April to November (you can buy tickets online in advance to avoid the line).  The studio where he painted has been turned into a gift shop, but you can tour the house where he lived, see his chickens, tour the massive formal gardens, and then cross under the street to the informal gardens around the waterlily pond (which he built by diverting a nearby river through his property, much to the consternation of his neighbors). I've been twice - once in late April when huge pink tulips carpetted the formal gardens, and the wisteria and trees were just beginning to bud; and once in early September when the tulips were gone, but there was a riot of irises and other flowers, and the wisteria was blooming on the bridge. 



September is when Giverny is most lush, and if you squint as Monet did, you can see how his gardens and pond inspired his Impressionist style.



Giverny is about an hour drive north of Paris. You can take a train, then bus, then walk to the house, but I recommend renting a car for the day and seeing Versaille in the morning, and then Giverny in the afternoon. See my notes about renting a car in Paris for Giverny/Versailles.

There’s no need to overnight in Giverny - you're only an hour outside of Paris.  HOWEVER, if you want an excuse (or you're heading on to Normandy after), we found a beautiful inn and fabulous dinner in nearby Croisy-sur-Eure that is worth the overnight. Le Moulin de Bechet is a big beautiful property often used by groups for retreats or weddings, but individuals can also reserve a room online. Rooms are a clean, comfortable rustic country cottage style overlooking gorgeous gardens and an old watermill. Be sure to stroll the property and look for the irises growing on the thatched roof, and the wisteria outside the dining room where your continental breakfast is served.



For dinner, the innkeeper recommended the restaurant in Hotel Altina in nearby Pacy-sur-Eure, and I fully admit we were deeply skeptical when we walked in because the hotel looks like a Holiday Inn - but the food and wine list was one of the best we had in France (and we went out of our way to some 4 star restaurants). Tom still speaks longingly of the fish soup he ordered (he let each of us have a spoonful then practically licked the bowl clean); I had a delicious entrecôte steak; and Cathy ordered a wonderful bottle of Côte de Nuits.