Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [280]
From the Clos Normand’s far corner a tunnel leads under the D5 to the Jardin d’Eau (Water Garden). Having bought this piece of land in 1895 after his reputation had been established (and his bank account had swelled), Monet dug a pool, planted water lilies and constructed the famous Japanese bridge, since rebuilt. Draped with purple wisteria, the bridge blends into the asymmetrical foreground and background, creating the intimate atmosphere for which the ‘Painter of Light’ was famous.
About 100m northwest of the Maison de Claude Monet is the Musée d’Art Américain (American Art Museum; 02 32 51 94 65; www.maag.org; 99 rue Claude Monet, Giverny; adult/12-18yr/under 12yr €5.50/4/free; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct), a modern building displaying a fine collection of the works of many of the American impressionist painters who flocked to France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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INFORMATION
For online information, www.giverny-art.com and www.ville-vernon27.fr for information on Vernon, 7km northwest of Giverny.
Vernon Tourist Office ( 02 32 51 39 60; tourisme.vernon@wanadoo.fr; 36 rue Carnot; 9am-12.30pm & 2-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-noon Sun May-Oct, 9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Tue-Sat Nov-Apr) The closest tourist office is in Vernon; travelling by train, stop here before continuing to Giverny.
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EATING & SLEEPING
Many Giverny restaurants and hotels are only open in season.
Auberge du Vieux Moulin ( 02 32 51 46 15; www.vieuxmoulingiverny.com; 21 rue de la Falaise, Giverny; salads €12, lunch Mon-Fri €15; lunch Tue-Sun Sat Apr-Oct) The lovely little ‘Old Mill Inn’, a couple of hundred metres east of the Maison de Claude Monet, is an excellent place for lunch and has a lovely terrace.
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TRANSPORT: GIVERNY
Distance from Paris 76km
Direction Northwest
Travel time 45 minutes by train to Vernon, then 20 by bus or bicycle
Car Route A13 from Paris’ Port de St-Cloud (direction Rouen), exit No 14 to route N15 (direction Vernon & Giverny)
SNCF train From Paris’ Gare St-Lazare there are two early-morning SNCF trains to Vernon (€11.90), from where seasonal shuttle buses ( 02 32 71 06 39; €4 return; Apr-Oct) continue from the station to Giverny, 7km northwest. Miles more fun is to hire a bike for €12 a day from the café facing the station on place de la Gare, Bar-Restaurant du Chemin de Fer ( 02 32 21 16 01; 6.30am-11pm); take your passport as a deposit. Between 5pm and 9pm there’s roughly one train an hour back to Paris.
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Hôtel La Musardière ( 02 32 21 03 18; 123 rue Claude Monet; s/d/tr/q €67/79/100/110) This two-star 10-room hotel evocatively called the ‘Idler’ is set amid a lovely garden less than 100m northeast of the Maison de Claude Monet. Dining in its summer restaurant (menus €26 and €36) is a pleasure.
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AUVERS-SUR-OISE
On 20 May 1890 the painter Vincent Van Gogh left a mental asylum in Provence and moved to this small village (population 6940) north of Paris. He came here to reacquaint himself with the light with which he was so familiar in his native Holland, and to be closer to his friend and benefactor Dr Paul Ferdinand Gachet (1828–1909), whose house, the Maison du Docteur Gachet ( 01 30 36 81 27; rue du Docteur Gachet; adult/18-25yr/under 18yr €4/3.50/free; 10.30am-6.30pm Wed-Sun Apr-Oct), can be visited. He set to work immediately, producing at least one painting or sketch every day until his death on 29 July, two months after his arrival.
Today Auvers-sur-Oise is predominantly a shrine to the great impressionist painter. Foremost is the Maison de Van Gogh ( 01 30 36 60 60; info@vangoghfrance.com; rue de la Sansonne; adult/12-18yr/under 12yr €5/3/free; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct), actually the Auberge Ravoux, where the artist stayed during his 70 days here. Bar the seasonal restaurant