Quick Details
On this small-group day trip from Paris, discover two of the most colorful sites in Normandy. Your guide meets you at your hotel in Paris. Climb aboard a luxury vehicle for a one-hour ride to Giverny.
The House and Gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny
Uncover the secrets of one of the pillars of Impressionism, Claude Monet. Leader of the pictorial movement of the 19th century, he brought a wind of change to academic representative art, introducing heightened perception, emotions and light. The painter devoted more than forty years of his life to one of his finest masterpieces: his garden in Giverny.
With skip-the-line access, the guide shares the calm and almost otherworldly beauty of Claude Monet’s Home and Gardens. Learn about the famous Impressionist and enjoy exploring inside his colorful home, stroll along the charming paths of his flower garden, and admire the water garden with the little green bridge and lake full of his famous water lilies.
The Clos Normand
The artist and gardener sought to transform a simple orchard into a magnificent, colorful garden: Japanese cherry trees, flowerbeds of nasturtiums, tulips and roses, an explosion of colors for each season.
The Water Garden
Wander through the romantic water garden, with its famous Japanese bridge, the wisterias, the water-lilies pond, the weeping willows and irises… Behold this living picture with its profusion of reflected light and colors.
The House
Visit the master’s charming pink house where a family atmosphere reigned. Discover the painter’s everyday life surrounded by eight children: the drawing room, the pantry, the bedroom, the study, the dining room and the beautiful kitchen… Admire his collection of Japanese prints, another source of inspiration.
The Studio
End your visit with the big studio where the famous water-lilies paintings saw the light of day. These paintings are exhibited at the Orangerie Museum in Paris. Enjoy the souvenir shop.
Take a midday break for lunch and continue on to Rouen.
Rouen
Discover the authentic Norman city of Rouen. It is hard to resist the charm of this city: the old Rouen, the Courthouse, the Cathedral and Joan of Arc square. Your guide takes you through this captivating city to discover its multiple facets. A real museum city, Rouen enchants you with its beautiful half-timbered houses, cobbled streets and Gothic churches. Rouen is also nicknamed the “City of 100 steeples”.
The Cathedral & Antiquarian District
The Notre-Dame cathedral is remarkable for the juxtaposition of all periods of the Gothic style, especially on its facade. Claude Monet captured this remarkable Gothic cathedral from an apartment facing it. He immortalized the compelling light reflected off this masterpiece in a series of 28 paintings.
Stroll through the antiquarian district among the stunning half-timbered houses. This atmosphere inspired Pissaro in his famous urban series. In this district, one of the most beautiful and oldest of Rouen, discover the Saint-Maclou Church, a gem of Flamboyant Gothic art and the Saint-Maclou Atrium, an old parish cemetery created during the Great Black Plague of 1348.
Continue your walk with the Saint-Ouen Abbey and the Courthouse, one of the beautiful achievements of the civil architecture of the late Middle Ages. Here is the oldest Jewish monument of France, the only example of medieval “Yeshiva” in the world.
The Great Clock and Belfry
The yawning renaissance arcade of the Great Clock spans the cobbled street and houses one of the oldest clock mechanisms in Europe. Flanked by a belfry tower with the city’s bells, the Great Clock, Renaissance arcade spans the street and houses one of the oldest clock mechanisms in Europe. On each side, its single-needle dials are richly decorated. Walk down the famous rue du Gros Horloge with its unique Renaissance double-faced clock.
Joan of Arc
Rouen was the scene of the martyrdom of Joan of Arc, condemned and burned in 1431. Find the exact place where she was burned, close to the Church of St. Joan of Arc whose stained glass windows are from the 16th century.
After the visit, transfer to Paris. Your guide drops you off at your accommodation in Paris.