Gardens At Giverny Views

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Frances -- Monet grew his gardens to be subjects of his paintings. With your talent, go for it! A friend of ours used a few of my French village photos from last year as subjects for her paintings.Tina -- When planning our trip for this year, I researched gardens all over France and the UK. Our window of travel is usually the first weeks in May, so Giverny's spring bloom coincided perfectly with our trip. Do all gardeners plan their vacations around what's in bloom at their destination? LOLCameron

A settlement has existed in Giverny since neolithic times and a monument uncovered attests to this fact. Archeological finds have included booties dating from Gallo-Roman times and to the earlier 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The town was known in ancient deeds as Warnacum . The cultivation of grapes has been an occupation of the inhabitants of Giverny since Merovingian times. The village church dates from the Middle Ages and is built partially in the Romanesque style, though additions have since been made. It is dedicated to Saint Radegonde. The village has remained a small rural setting with a modest population (numbering around 301 in 1883 when Monet discovered it) and has since seen a boom in tourism since the restoration of Monet's house and gardens.

Claude Monet noticed the village of Giverny while looking out of a train window. He made up his mind to move there and rented a house and the area surrounding it. In 1890 he had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint. Some of his most famous paintings, such as his water lily and Japanese bridge paintings, were of his garden in Giverny. Monet lived in Giverny from 1883 until his death in 1926. He and many members of his family are interred in the village cemetery.

For something delightfully different, try Fat Tire Bike Tours. For 65 Euros, you receive round trip train transportation Paris to Vernon, a guided bike tour from Vernon to Giverny, picnic lunch along the Seine, entrance to Monet’s house and gardens, and a visit to his gravesite. It’s an easy 6.5 mile round trip bike ride.