Fondation Claude Monet, Normandy, France

5MidwestKathM 5:00 PM Jan 4, 2023

As inspiring today as it was in Monet's day!
Three years after our initial visit to Monet's House and Gardens, we made a return visit to visit the house (the lines were too long to wait last time) and spend time walking around the beautiful gardens and water lily pond. In the interim, I had read much on Monet and his family and his life in Giverny, learning how he came to create the gardens and water lily pond and then painted them for the last 25 years of his life. We were there early in the morning on a Monday in mid-September. First order of business was tour the house! And it didn't disappoint. We waited only a few minutes to get into the house for a self-guided tour of the house, starting with the Monet's in-house studio where the walls are filled with reproductions of the paintings (his own and those he acquired from fellow artists), then the upstairs and finally the dining room and kitchen, both of which are stunning in their color schemes (yellow dining room and blue and white kitchen) and decor as dictated by Monet himself. Love the copper pots on the wall over the kitchen stove!! Once outside, I walked the length of the pink and green house to be sure and see the original studio building at the west end, the various entrance doors (beautiful green!), and the water lily studio (now gift shop) at the east end. We strolled through the garden paths, enjoying the fall flowers which were dwindling in number. And we walked about the water lily pond. Unfortunately I didn't see a single water lily in bloom, only lily pads, but it's still such a beautiful setting with the trees and flowering bushes and the reflections thereof in the water. One can easily imagine how the changes across seasons, time of day, and weather inspired Monet to paint scene after scene at the water lily pond for so many years! Can't wait to return again someday!

5Amy M 5:00 PM Jul 18, 2022

Like being in a Monet painting
Giverny is beautiful and amazing, I highly recommend a visit. We got there first thing in the morning and I highly recommend that because when we were leaving, it was starting to get crowded. The gardens are stunning, it is like being in one of Monet's paintings. His home is charming, I just loved all of the natural light and bright colors. The gift shop is so nice, one of the best we visited at a 'museum'. There is a free restroom on the property and some cute shops and a walk up place to get food just outside of the gift shop when you leave.