OCTOBER 2021
You can visit the gardens of Monet from April 1 until November 1, which means that you can visit it in springtime, summer and autumn. Years ago, I first visited the gardens of Monet during spring and I had been eager to go back ever since. COVID kept interrupting my plans, but the past summer we were finally able to fit it into our travel schedule again. In this blogpost I will share my summer visit pics as well as some throwback pics, so you can make an informed decision on when to visit the gardens!
Practical information
Tickets to the gardens and Monet’s house cost € 13 for adults. It is advised to buy your tickets in advance, this will save you at least one queue. Because of COVID you have to book a timeslot, we booked the first timeslot at 9.30AM and there was already a gigantic queue when we showed up. I have to say that the garden is big enough, visitors can spread easily and lots of visitors will visit the house first. I was surprised at the popularity of the gardens in the early morning, but it didn’t hinder me taking pictures. Monet actually lived in the house that is located on the premises and I highly recommend visiting inside. The house is super colorful, homely, cozy, stylish and artsy. I find it incredibly fascinating how much ahead of his time Monet was, with his paintings and style. There are several parkings near the gardens, which are free of use. Giverny also has a free camperspot without facilities within walking distance of the gardens. Giverny itself is a pretty charming town and I would advise to walk around and have a meal here. The flowers in the village match the flowers in Monet’s garden so you will find the whole village “in style”. It also hosts several art galleries and you can visit Monet’s grave.
Should I visit in spring or summertime?
You can visit Giverny several times a year, because the garden changes with the seasons. The garden is divided in two parts, one part is the famous part with the bridge over the pond, that is featured in many paintings of Monet. The other part is the garden in front of the pink house. My advice on when to visit the garden depends on two factors: which flowers you prefer to see and the kind of weather. In spring the garden in front of the house is scattered with tulips and daffodils and the cherry blossom trees are in bloom. The wisteria over the bridge over the pond is also at its peak in springtime. In summertime you will find a rich assortment of wildflowers, dahlias and hibiscus. We visited pretty late in spring so the roses and waterlilies were past their prime. I personally prefer the springtime flowers, but when we visited in spring it was super cold outside making our summer visit much more enjoyable. Below you will find my pictures of the gardens in the different seasons, to help you make your decision on when to visit.
Summer garden
I absolutely loved the carpet of pink and red flowers that we found in September! Such a showstopper in front of the house! Pay close attention to my pictures below to spot my favorite wildflower 🙂
Spring garden
In the pictures below you can see that the color schedule is completely different in spring. I personally loved the pink and purple hues, but you can see that it was super cold when we visited and that I wasn’t a twirling pro yet in 2018. Just seeing this pictures makes be long for spring and I hope we won’t be in lockdown again in 2021 so I can revisit the gardens!
The house
I hope that the pictures below give you an impression of the house of Monet. It truly is as magnificent from the inside as the outside and it gave me lots of interior decoration inspo!
