Is Giverny Worth Visiting? • Happily Ever Travels

Since Giverny is a bit out of the way, you may be asking yourself “Is Giverny worth visiting?” As someone who visited Giverny for a family member and not so much for myself, I would still say that Giverny is worth a visit.

Is Giverny Worth Visiting? Yes and No

Giverny is worth visiting depending on what you already have planned for your trip.

If you’ve always dreamed of going to Monet’s Garden, then this side trip is obviously worth it.

But if you’re like me and could go either way, here is how you can decide whether it’s worth a trip for you.

I can tell you that as someone who wasn’t crazy excited to go, it definitely exceeded my expectations. The town itself is absolutely adorable and I learned so much about Monet that I never knew before.

Not to mention the garden itself, which is idyllic, to say the least.

But there are some things you need to keep in mind, so I’ll go over the reasons you SHOULDN’T go to Giverny first, then why you should.

Why You Shouldn’t Visit Giverny

You Want to See the Lily Pads But The Time of Year is Wrong

You probably aren’t planning your whole trip around Giverny, I imagine. So you may have planned your trip to France during a time of year when the gardens aren’t at their very best.

Before I went, I didn’t realize that the lily pads wouldn’t be there during the time of year we went and some of my family members were disappointed.

However, since it was the beginning of spring (we went the second week of April) the flowers were in bloom and made up for the lack of lily pads (for some of us).

It’s the Winter

If you’re traveling to this part of France during the winter, it goes without saying that visiting Monet’s garden will not be as magical as usual. I’d skip it and save it for another time.

Giverny is the ONLY Side Trip You Want to Take from Paris

If your trip is to Paris for a week and you’re wondering if you could hop over to Giverny for the day, that’s definitely doable. You should never plan to do a trip like that on the same day as your flight home though!

In order to get to Giverny from Paris, you’ll either need to rent a car for the day or plan around taking a train from Paris to Vernon-Giverny Station (about 16 euros per person per way) and then take the local bus 71 to the actual gardens.

If you’re looking for something really easy that won’t require much planning, you can book a tour that will take you straight to Giverny and includes a private tour of the gardens and house.

If all of that sounds like a lot of work to get to Giverny, then that answers your question! It can be done, but for some visiting Giverny as a solitary side trip from Paris just won’t be worth the effort.

You Aren’t Traveling Anywhere Near Giverny

If you aren’t traveling from Paris or a city in Normandy, I would skip Giverny. Visiting from basically any other region will be expensive and a ton of effort.

Instead of going all the way to Giverny from wherever you are, look more into that region. I promise there is PLENTY in France and even if you stay in just one region your whole trip, you won’t get even close to seeing everything.

Why You Should Visit Giverny

You Are Heading to Normandy from Paris

If you are planning on traveling through Normandy, then Giverny is definitely worth a stop. In fact, it will most likely be on the way!

Even if you are traveling by train (I highly recommend using Omio to book these!), you can take the train from Paris to Giverny, then from Giverny to Roeun or Le Havre to continue your tour of Normandy.

You Are on a Roadtrip Through Normandy

If you’re renting a car and driving through Normandy, then there’s no reason not to stop for a few hours in Giverny! Not to mention that there are tons of little stops around this area that will blow your mind with how beautiful they are.

the green and pink house in Giverny, France with cherry blossoms

On your way to Giverny (if you’re coming from Paris) you can stop to see one of the most beautiful villages in France with a castle to boot in Le Roche-Guyon.

A little past Giverny, you can get one of the best viewpoints of the Seine in all of France in Les Andelys (I think this little town was my favorite on our whole trip to Normandy!).

So if you’re on a road trip, Giverny is the perfect addition to your itinerary.

You Are a Huge Fan of Monet & It’s Always Been On Your Bucket List

If this is you, then you’re probably not reading a blog post about whether it’s worth it to visit Giverny…but maybe there’s someone in your group who feels this way about Giverny.

If that’s the case, then you should go! There are always going to be places that are a bit harder to get to than others, but that’s also a fun part of traveling if it’s a place you’ve always dreamt of going to.

And if it’s someone in your travel group who feels this way and you don’t actually want to go, maybe stay back in Paris that day or take a nap in the car (that’s what my brother-in-law did!)

You Love Flowers & Gardens

The gardens at Monet’s House in Giverny do NOT disappoint, so if you love to see tons of different colors of flowers blooming everywhere, then it’s still worth a trip.

It’s absolutely gorgeous (as long as you aren’t visiting way off-season) and even if you don’t care at all about Monet, you can respect and admire what he’s done with the place.

Plus, a pink house with green shutters?! You don’t see that every day.

A fun fact I learned while there was that the house was originally pink, but painting the shutters green was Monet’s idea. It definitely makes the place pop.