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Highlights

• Full-day Giverny and Versailles tour from Paris
• Visit Claude Monet’s home and gardens in Giverny
• Lunch at the Moulin de Fourges restaurant
• Guided tour of the Palace of Versailles
• Great-value tour includes entrance fees, lunch, and round-trip transport
• Private tour ensures a personalized experience

Information

Discover the Palace of Versailles, residence of the ‘Sun King’ and the home of Claude Monet, ‘Prince of the Impressionists’ in just one day.

Our expert guide will pick you up and drop you off at your Parisian accomodation, so you can sit back, relax and make the most of your day. You will first visit the idyllic home of Claude Monet on the edge of Normandy. The leader of the Impressionist School lived here from 1883 to 1926, the colourful décor and pink brick facade are an intimate reminder of its former life. The precious collection of Japanese engravings is displayed in several rooms, hung in the marmer chosen by the master of Giverny himself.

Claude Monet’s property at Giverny, left by his son to the Académie des Beaux-arts in 1966, has, after completion of large scale restoration work, become the Claude Monet Foundation, inaugurated in 1980. The huge Nymphéas studio, a stone’s throw from the house, has also been restored and contains the Foundation’s Shop. The gardens have been replanted as they once were and offer visitors the “painting from nature” which Claude Monet’s contemporaries considered to be one of his masterpieces. The rectangular Clos Normand, with archways of climbing plants entwined around brilliantly coloured shrubs, lies before the house and studios, offering from Spring to Autumn the palette of varying colours to the painter-gardner who was “ecstatic about flowers”. Lastly, the Water Garden, formed by a tributary of the Epte, lies further away, shaded by weeping willows. With its famous Japanese Bridge, its wistarias, azaleas and its pond, it has once more become that casket of sky and water which inspired the pictorial universe of the water lilies.

You will enjoy a fabulous 3 course lunch at the “Moulin de Fourges” restaurant, a 200-year-old mill. The architecture of this listed site, dating back to the 18th century, draws its inspiration from the hamlet of Marie-Antoinette at Versailles. It offers a unique setting with its rural grounds and spacious terrace on the banks of the Epte.

In the afternoon, we will take you back to the Golden Age of France with a visit to the Palace of Versailles. The chateau and gardens count among the most prestigious monuments of the world’s artistic heritage, and are certainly the finest and most complete achievement of 17th century French art. Former residence of the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV, this sumptuous royal palace was home to three of France’s most illustrious Kings for over 100 years. The audio-guided tour of the palace includes the State Apartments of the King and Queen, Royal Chapel and Hall of Mirrors, a richly decorated gallery which boasts 357 mirrors, french bay windows and crystal chandeliers.

 

At the end of your visit there is free time to discover the famous gardens à la française ; a 2,000 acre park designed by André le Notre with its magnificent groves, statues, and fountains.

 

Please Note:                                                                   

The "Musical Gardens" show takes place on Tuesdays and Fridays from April 2nd 2019 through to October 29th 2019, EXCEPT on Friday April 19th 2019 as well as Tuesdays From May 21st through June 25th 2019. During this period, the access to the gardens will also be included to enjoy the show.

The "Musical Fountains" show takes place on Saturdays and Sundays from April 6th 2019 through October 27  2019, as well as Public Holidays (April 19th, May 8th, 30th, and August 15 2019) + Tuesdays From May 21st through June 25th 2019. During this period, the access to the gardens will also be included to see the fountains and groves spring to life to the rhythm of the music.