Sleeping and Eating in Giverny
Orientation to Auvers-sur-Oise
Paris is the unofficial capital of Impressionism, its museums speckled with sun-dappled paintings. But true Impressionist fans will want to do what the Impressionist painters did: don a scarf and beret, and head for the countryside.
At Giverny and Auvers-sur-Oise, follow in the footsteps of Monet, Van Gogh, Pissarro, Cézanne, and others. See the landscapes and small-town life that inspired these great masters. Little has changed over time: You’ll be surrounded by pastoral scenes that still look like an Impressionist painting come to life.
At Giverny, you can visit Monet’s home and much-painted garden. (Be warned: the gardens are pretty, but they’re filled with tourists, so time your visit carefully.) Auvers-sur-Oise is a quieter village, with Van Gogh’s grave, recognizable settings of several of the artist’s paintings, and a multimedia museum on Impressionism. Both places are about an hour’s journey from Paris and easy to reach by public transportation.
Claude Monet’s gardens at Giverny are like his paintings—brightly colored patches that are messy but balanced. Flowers were his brushstrokes, a bit untamed and slapdash, but part of a carefully composed design. Monet spent his last (and most creative) years cultivating his garden and his art at Giverny (zhee-vayr-nee), the spiritual home of Impressionism (1883-1926). Visiting the Marmottan and/or the Orangerie museums in Paris before your visit here, or at least reading the chapters on those museums, heightens your appreciation of these gardens.
In 1883, middle-aged Claude Monet, his wife Alice, and their eight children from two families settled into this farmhouse, 50 miles west of Paris (for more on Monet’s family, see sidebar on here). Monet, already a famous artist and happiest at home, would spend 40 years in Giverny, traveling less with each passing year. He built a pastoral paradise complete with a Japanese garden and a pond full of floating lilies.
In 1912, Monet—the greatest visionary, literally, of his generation—began to go blind with cataracts. To compensate, he used larger canvases and painted fewer details. The true subject of these later works is not really the famous water lilies but the changing reflections on the pond’s surface—of the blue sky, white clouds, and green trees that line the shore.
Drivers can get in and out of Giverny in a half-day with ease. The trip is also doable in a half-day by public transportation with a train/bus connection, but because trains are not frequent, be prepared for a six-hour excursion.
By Tour: Big tour companies do a Giverny day trip from Paris for around €70. If you’re interested, ask at your hotel, but you can easily do the trip yourself by train and bus for about €40.
By Car: From Paris’ périphérique ring road, follow A-13 toward Rouen, exit at Sortie 14 to Vernon, and follow Centre Ville signs, then signs to Giverny. You can park right at Monet’s house or at one of several nearby lots.
By Train: Take the Rouen-bound train from Paris Gare St. Lazare Station to Vernon, about four miles from Giverny (normally leaves from tracks 20-25, 45 minutes one-way, about €30 round-trip). The train that leaves Paris at around 8:15 is ideal for this trip, with departures about every two hours after that (8/day Mon-Sat, 6/day Sun). Before boarding, use an information desk in Gare St. Lazare to get return times from Vernon to Paris.
Getting from Vernon’s Train Station to Giverny: From the Vernon station to Monet’s garden, you have four options: bus, taxi, bike, or hike. If you need to check bags, drop them at L’Arrivée de Giverny café, opposite the train station (€5/bag).
The Vernon-Giverny bus meets every train from Paris for the 15-minute run to Giverny (€8 round-trip, pay driver). A bus-and-train timetable is available at the bus stops, on the bus, and online (www.giverny.org/transpor)—note return times. To reach the bus stop, walk through the station, then follow the tracks—the stop is across from the L’Arrivée de Giverny café. Don’t dally in the station—the bus leaves soon after your train arrives. During busy times, a line can form while the driver sells tickets and loads the bus.
The bus leaves Giverny from the same stop where it drops you off (near the pedestrian underpass—see map; good WCs on the north side of the underpass). Buses generally run every hour, with the last one departing at about 19:15 (confirm times by checking schedule upon arrival). Get to the stop at least 15 minutes early to ensure a space. If you miss the return bus and can’t wait for the next one, ask any approachable service personnel to call a taxi.
Taxis wait in front of the station in Vernon (allow €15 one-way for up to 3 people, mobile 06 77 49 32 90 or 06 50 12 21 22).
You can also rent a bike at L’Arrivée de Giverny café (€14, tel. 02 32 21 16 01) and follow a paved bike path (piste cyclable) that runs from near Vernon along an abandoned railroad right-of-way (figure about 30 minutes to Giverny). Get the easy-to-follow map to Giverny when you rent your bike, and you’re in business.
Hikers can go on foot to Giverny (about 1.5 hours one way) following the bike path (see above) and take a bus or taxi back.
Extension to Rouen: Consider combining your morning Giverny visit with an afternoon excursion to nearby Rouen—together they make an efficient and memorable day trip from Paris. Note that Rouen’s museums are closed on Tuesdays. From Vernon (the halfway point between Rouen and Paris), it’s about 40 minutes by train to Rouen; the return trip from Rouen back to Paris takes 70-90 minutes. Plan to arrive at Monet’s garden when it opens (at 9:30), so you can be back to the Vernon train station by about 13:00. You’ll land in Rouen by 14:00 and have just enough time to see Rouen’s cathedral and surrounding medieval quarter. In Rouen, the TI is a 15-minute walk from the station and offers an audioguide walking tour (or, better yet, get your hands on the Rouen section from the Normandy chapter of my Rick Steves France guidebook). If you leave Rouen around 18:00, you’ll pull into Paris about 19:15, having spent a wonderful day sampling rural and urban Normandy.
All of Giverny’s sights and shops string along Rue Claude Monet, which runs in front of Monet’s house.
Tourist Information: The TI is located at the intersection of Rue Claude Monet and Rue du Pressoir (daily late March-late Sept 10:00-17:45, closed off-season, 80 Rue Claude Monet, tel. 02 32 64 45 01).
Giverny based taxi: tel. 06 03 30 85 47.
All kinds of people flock to Giverny. Gardeners admire the earth-moving landscaping and layout, botanists find interesting new plants, and art lovers can see paintings they’ve long admired come to life. Fans enjoy wandering around the house where Monet spent half his life and seeing the boat he puttered around in, as well as the henhouse where his family got the eggs for their morning omelets.
There are two gardens, split by a busy road, plus the house, which displays Monet’s prized collection of Japanese prints. The gardens are always flowering with something; they’re at their most colorful April through July.
Cost: €9.50, not covered by Paris Museum Pass, €16.50 combo-ticket includes nearby Museum of Impressionisms, €18.50 combo-ticket with Paris’ Marmottan Museum; daily April-Oct 9:30-18:00, closed Nov-March; tel. 02 32 51 90 31, http://fondation-monet.com.
Crowd-Beating Tips: Though lines may be long and tour groups may trample the flowers, true fans still find magic in the gardens. Minimize crowds by arriving a little before 9:30, when it opens, or come after 16:00 and stay until it closes. Crowds recede briefly during lunch (12:00-13:30) but descend en masse after lunch. The busiest months here are May and June.
If you’re coming at a busy time, your best bet is to buy advance tickets online or at any FNAC store in Paris, which allows you to skip the ticket line and use the group entrance. Another option, if you also plan to visit the Museum of Impressionisms (described later), is to go there first and buy a combo-ticket (billet couplé).
Visiting the House and Gardens: After you get in, go directly into the Walled Garden (Clos Normand) and work your way around clockwise. Smell the pretty scene. Monet cleared this land of pine trees and laid out symmetrical beds, split down the middle by a “grand alley” covered with iron trellises of climbing roses. He did his own landscaping, installing flowerbeds of lilies, irises, and clematis. The arched arbors leading to the home’s entry form a natural tunnel that guides your eye down the path—an effect exploited in his Rose Trellis paintings (on display in Paris at the Marmottan Museum). In his carefree manner, Monet throws together hollyhocks, daisies, and poppies. The color scheme of each flowerbed contributes to the look of the whole garden.
In the southwest corner of the Walled Garden (near the group entrance), you’ll find a pedestrian tunnel that leads under the road to the Water Garden. Follow the meandering path to the Japanese bridge, under weeping willows, over the pond filled with water lilies, and past countless scenes that leave artists aching for an easel. Find a bench. Monet landscaped like he painted—he built an Impressionist pattern of blocks of color. After he planted the gardens, he painted them, from every angle, at every time of day, in all kinds of weather. Assisted by his favorite stepdaughter, Blanche (also a painter, who married Monet’s son Jean, from an earlier marriage), he worked on several canvases at once, moving with the sun from one to the next. In a series of canvases, you can watch the sunlight sweep over the gardens from early dawn to twilight.
Impressionism was a revolutionary movement and all the rage in European art in the 1880s. Artists abandoned realism in favor of a wispy style that captured light, glimmers, feelings, and impressions. Committed to conveying subtle atmospheric effects, the Impressionists captured nature as a mosaic of short brushstrokes of different colors placed side by side, suggesting shimmering light. And there is no better nature for an Impressionist ready to paint than Monet’s delightful mix of weeping willows, luminous clouds, delicate bridges, reflecting ponds...and lush water lilies.
Back on the main side, continue your visit with a wander through Monet’s mildly interesting home (pretty furnishings, Japanese prints, old photos, and a room filled with copies of his paintings). The gift shop at the exit is the actual sky-lighted studio where Monet painted his water-lily masterpieces (displayed at the Orangerie Museum in Paris). Many visitors spend more time in this tempting gift shop than in the gardens themselves.
This bright, modern museum, dedicated to the history of Impressionism and its legacy, houses temporary exhibits of Impressionist art. Check its website for current shows or just drop in. It also has picnic-pleasant gardens in front.
Cost and Hours: €7, daily April-Oct 10:00-18:00, closed Nov-March; to reach it, turn left after leaving Monet’s place and walk 200 yards; tel. 02 32 51 94 00, www.mdig.fr.
Monet’s grave is a 15-minute walk from his door. Turn left out of his house and walk down Rue Claude Monet, pass the Museum of Impressionisms and the Hôtel Baudy, and find it in the backyard of the white church Monet attended (Eglise Sainte-Radegonde). Look for flowers, with a cross above. The inscription says: Here lies our beloved Claude Monet, born 14 November 1840, died 5 December 1926; missed by all.
If you have time to kill at Vernon’s train station, take a five-minute walk into town and sample the peaceful village. Walk between the tracks and the café across the street from the station, and follow the street as it curves left and becomes Rue d’Albuféra. You’ll find a smattering of half-timbered Norman homes near Hôtel de Ville (remember, you’re in Normandy) and several good cafés and shops—including the killer $ Boulangerie/Pâtisserie Rose, which has intense quiche and a good selection of sandwiches (74 Rue d’Albuféra, tel. 02 32 51 03 98).
(See “Giverny” map, here.)
($$$$ = Splurge, $$$ = Pricier, $$ = Moderate, $ = Budget)
Sleeping: $ Hôtel la Musardière** is nestled in the village of Giverny two blocks from Monet’s home (exit right when you leave Monet’s). Carole welcomes you with 10 sweet rooms that Claude himself would have felt at home in (family rooms) and a reasonable and homey $$ crêperie-restaurant with a lovely yard and outdoor tables (daily with nonstop service, 123 Rue Claude Monet, tel. 02 32 21 03 18, www.lamusardiere.fr, hotelmusardieregiverny@wanadoo.fr).
$ Les Jardins d’Hèléne chambres d’hôte is as lovely as a Monet painting, with floral rooms and a terrific garden. Owner Sandrine Chifman goes out of her way to help her guests have a local experience, including free use of her bikes, and cooks dinner on Sunday and Monday evenings when most restaurants are closed—€20, reserve 2 days ahead (includes breakfast, 15-minute walk from Monet’s home at 12 Rue Claude Monet, tel. 02 32 21 30 68 or 06 47 98 14 87, www.giverny-lesjardinsdhelene.com, lesjardinsdhelene@free.fr).
$ Le Clos Fleuri is a family-friendly B&B in a traditional house with three fine rooms, handy cooking facilities, and a lovely garden. It’s a 15-minute walk from Monet’s place and is run by charming, English-speaking Danielle, who serves up a generous included breakfast (cash only, 5 Rue de la Dîme, tel. 02 32 21 36 51, www.giverny-leclosfleuri.fr, leclosfleuri27@yahoo.fr).
Eating: A flowery café/restaurant and a sandwich/drink stand sit right next to the parking lot across from Monet’s home. Enjoy your lunch in the nearby gardens of the Museum of the Impressionisms.
The botanic café by the TI, $ La Capucine, is like a self-serve cafeteria, with a pleasant garden and tasty cold or warm soups and quiches (daily 10:00-18:00).
Rose-colored $$ Hôtel Baudy, once a hangout for American Impressionists, offers an appropriately pretty setting for lunch or dinner (outdoor tables in front, popular with tour groups, daily, 5-minute walk past Museum of Impressionisms at 81 Rue Claude Monet, tel. 02 32 21 10 03). Don’t miss a stroll through the artsy gardens behind the restaurant.
This small, plain town draws Van Gogh pilgrims and those in search of a green escape from the city. Auvers-sur-Oise (oh-vehr soor wahz) is a peaceful place on a bend of the lazy Oise River, northwest of Paris. A manageable day trip by car, it can be tricky by train (best for the truly devoted). Here you’ll get an intimate glimpse into life (and death) during the Impressionist era. Walkers enjoy stretching their legs between the sights in this countryside setting.
Auvers was a magnet for artists in the late 1800s. Charles-François Daubigny, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Camille Pissarro, and Paul Cézanne all adored this rural retreat (they were also unknown at this time). But Auvers is best known as the village where Vincent van Gogh shot himself. He moved here from southern France to be near his brother Theo (who lived in Paris). Vincent had talked his way out of the asylum in St-Rémy-de-Provence with assurances that he would be under good care from an understanding doctor, Auvers resident Paul Gachet.
Today, this modest little town opens its doors to visitors with a handful of sights and walking trails leading to scenes painted by various artists (some with copies of the paintings posted). Most sights are closed Mondays (some are also closed Tue) and from November to Easter. Auvers makes a convenient first or last overnight stop for drivers using Charles de Gaulle airport, as it avoids traffic hassles (Auvers is about 20 miles from the airport).
By Train: Main-line trains direct to Auvers-sur-Oise run on weekends and holidays from Gare du Nord (one round-trip per day, 45 minutes, departs at about 9:30, returns at about 18:20). This is by far your surest bet for a stress-free trip, but it leaves you there all day. (Take the train at least one direction; see below for other options.) The station in Auvers-sur-Oise is unmanned on weekends, so buy round-trip tickets in Paris, and confirm the return schedule in advance.
Frequent RER trains get you there every day but take 90 minutes each way and require a transfer. Take the RER-C to Pontoise (2/hour, 1 hour to Pontoise, catch in Paris at St. Michel, Musée d’Orsay, Invalides, or Pont de l’Alma stops). Pontoise is the end of the line, where it’s easy to transfer to Auvers. Ask at any RER-C station for the best connection or check www.ratp.fr for RER lines. Service from Pontoise back to Paris is frequent, with trains to Gare du Nord, Gare St. Lazare, and points along the RER-C route.
To get from Pontoise to Auvers, a 10-minute ride away, you have three options: You can take the train (direction: Creil), but plan ahead to avoid long waits (before leaving Auvers’ train station, get return times to Pontoise, as service is sparse but workable). You can catch bus #9507 (stop to the right of the station, runs hourly, look for the posted schedule—you’re at Chemin de la Gare in Pontoise, and you want the Marie stop in Auvers). Or you can go by taxi (about €11; for a bit more money, the same taxi can pick you up in Auvers for the return; tel. 01 30 75 95 95).
By Car: Auvers is about 45 minutes northwest of Paris. Take the A-15 autoroute to A-115, and then exit at Auvers-sur-Oise.
Tourist Information: The small but helpful TI is in a white house at the center of the Parc Van Gogh (the park entrance is across from the train station about a block toward town). The TI has good information on all sights, as well as bus, train, and RER schedules (generally open Tue-Sun 9:30-12:30 & 14:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00, closed Mon year-round, tel. 01 30 36 71 81, www.tourisme.fr). Spring for the helpful €1 map showing walking routes, and set the scene for your exploration by watching the 12-minute video on Auvers-sur-Oise and Van Gogh (€1, English version available).
Helpful Hints: There’s a handy supermarket and bakery on your way into town from the station. For a taxi in Auvers, call 01 39 60 20 40, or in Pontoise 01 30 30 45 45.
The best way to spend a few hours in Auvers is to wander the streets and paths of the village. Spot locations where well-known paintings were set, stop by the graves of Vincent and Theo, and visit the Château d’Auvers—the town’s most worthwhile sight. It’s easy to connect Auvers’ sights by following my route or using the TI map.
This skippable museum houses a small collection of works by Charles-François Daubigny and other artists who came to work with him. Daubigny was a big supporter of the Impressionist movement (€4, Wed-Fri 14:00-17:30, Sat-Sun 10:30-12:30 & 14:00-18:00, closed Mon-Tue, Rue de la Sansonne).
• Leave the museum following signs uphill for L’Eglise (10-minute walk). You’ll recognize the church (Notre-Dame d’Auvers) from Van Gogh’s paintings (interior open 9:30-19:00). From here, follow signs for Tombes de Théo et Vincent up the small street behind the church and walk about 300 yards to the simple cemetery.
Vincent and his caring brother are buried side by side against the cemetery’s upper wall about halfway down (look for the ivy). No one can be sure why Vincent ended his life at 37, but standing at his grave, you can feel the weight of the tragedy and only imagine the paintings he might have created. You can thank Japanese travelers for the gray dust on the ivy that covers Vincent’s and Theo’s graves: Vincent is wildly popular among the Japanese, some of whom ask to have their ashes spread over his grave. Vincent lies in a coffin made by the same carpenter who built his picture frames.
• Leave the cemetery and follow the dirt path that bisects a broad wheat field (any crows swirling on the horizon?), following signs to Château via Sente du Montier. Vincent shot himself in this field and died two days later in his bedroom at the Auberge Ravoux (described later). His brother was at his side. His last painting was Wheatfield with Crows, painted in this very field in 1890.
Walk to the woods on the far side of the field. There you’ll drop down to a street. Turn left when you reach the “T,” and pass...
This well-preserved home/studio once belonged to Charles-François Daubigny, who created the artist colony that Auvers became in the 1880s (€6; Thu-Sun 14:00-18:30, closed Mon-Wed; closed mid-July-mid-Aug and Oct-March; tel. 01 30 36 60 60).
• Past the Maison-Atelier de Daubigny, veer right at signs to the château. You’ll soon pass...
This small, one-of-a-kind tribute features the highly alcoholic, herb-based beverage popular among artists and writers (including Van Gogh) in the late 1800s. Considered dangerously addictive, absinthe was banned in 1915. Another anise-flavored drink—pastis—took its place; it tasted similar but was less toxic. Then, in 2011, absinthe was again declared legal in France. The museum has only minimal English information, but the staff make a good effort to explain the displays.
Cost and Hours: €5, €8 for visit with tasting—in French, bottles for sale; July-Aug Wed-Sun 13:30-18:00, closed Mon-Tue; Sept-mid-June Sat-Sun only 13:30-18:00.
• From here it’s a straight, 300-yard shot to...
This château has been transformed into a splendid recreation of life during the Impressionist years. Elaborate and informative multimedia displays use an audioguide, video screens, and lasers to guide you along the Impressionist route that led from Montmartre west to the sea, giving you a keen appreciation of life’s daily struggles and pleasures during this time. You’ll experience the cancan and a mock train ride and see more than 500 Impressionist paintings. To maximize your experience, bring your own earphones to use with the included audioguide. The château has a fine café with outdoor seating in the summer.
Cost and Hours: €14.75, family rates, not covered by Paris Museum Pass; Tue-Sun 10:30-18:00, Oct-March until 16:30, closed Mon; tel. 01 34 48 48 48, www.chateau-auvers.fr.
• A short walk beyond the château, Van Gogh fans can visit the restored home of Dr. Gachet (well-signed).
It was at Camille Pissarro’s suggestion that Dr. Gachet agreed to see Van Gogh, who made an immediate connection with the doctor—“I have found a friend in Dr. Gachet...and something of a new brother, since we are so similar both mentally and physically.” The home is furnished as it was when Vincent lived in Auvers, and the garden has medicinal plants that the homeopath Dr. Gachet cultivated and used to treat Van Gogh. You’ll also find exhibits of contemporary painters. In addition to being Vincent’s personal physician in Auvers, Dr. Gachet was an avid painter and entertained famous artists such as Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro. He inherited all of Van Gogh’s works from his time in Auvers (those you see at the Orsay Museum were donated by Dr. Gachet’s family). As you tour the doctor’s simple home, consider that in 1990, one of Vincent’s portraits of Gachet fetched over $80 million at auction. Dr. Gachet is buried at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
Cost and Hours: Free, Wed-Sun 10:30-18:30, closed Mon-Tue and Nov-March, 78 Rue du Dr. Gachet.
• Return to the TI and find...
Vincent lived and died in an attic room of this inn (also called “Maison de Van Gogh”). Informative plaques in the courtyard explain Vincent’s tragic life. The simple room has been recreated to look exactly as it did when he was here (his few furnishings were burned by church officials shortly after his death, as suicide was considered a sin). Wooden steps lead to Van Gogh’s room, where staff give some commentary in English and run a 12-minute slide show.
Cost and Hours: €6, Wed-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon-Tue and Nov-Feb.
• Your walk is over. Food connoisseurs can enjoy a tasty lunch in the auberge’s perfectly preserved restaurant.
($$$$ = Splurge, $$$ = Pricier, $$ = Moderate, $ = Budget)
Sleeping: $$ Hostellerie du Nord*** is small, friendly, and polished—a treat for those who want to sleep in luxury. It has modern, spacious rooms and a seriously good restaurant that requires reservations (menus from €65, a block from train station at 6 Rue du Général de Gaulle, tel. 01 30 36 70 74, www.hostelleriedunord.fr).
Eating: The most atmospheric place to eat in Auvers is $$$ Auberge Ravoux, unchanged (except for its prices) since 1876, when painters would meet here over a good meal. It’s wise to make a reservation for lunch on weekends (closed Mon-Tue, on Place de la Mairie, tel. 01 30 36 60 60, www.maisondevangogh.fr).
If you’re visiting the château, its café makes for a logical lunch spot, or you can continue walking past the château to $$ Le Cadran, an easy-going café run by a friendly Franco-Dutch couple. They serve up homemade lunches and tasty meat-and-cheese plates all afternoon, accompanied by an interesting selection of wines, artisanal beers, and organic teas (April-Sept Tue-Sat from 11:30, check off-season hours online, tel. 09 52 18 67 81, www.lecadran.eu).
Auvers also has grocery stores, cafés, crêperies, restaurants, and bakeries with sandwiches. This place was made for picnics.