To mark the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet's death, around thirty of his paintings have been brought to the Musée des Impressionnismes in Giverny for the first celebration of this centennial.
Monet's house, with its famous waterlily gardens, is open to the public year-round, and is one of France's most popular tourist attractions.
However visitors cannot normally see his paintings there, as they are housed in museums and galleries around the world.
From March 27th to July 5th, 2026, the exhibition, titled "Avant les nymphéas. Monet découvre Giverny, 1883-1890" (Before water lilies. Monet discovers Giverny 1883-1890) will be dedicated to Monet’s early years in the small town in Normandy.
The painter first settled into a house that he initially rented, before purchasing it at the end of the decade. During those years, Monet methodically explored the surrounding landscapes: fields of poppies, poplars, meadows, hills, and the banks of the Epte river and the Seine.
“This was a pivotal period,” told Cyrille Sciama, director of the Musée des Impressionnismes told France Info. “Monet was a mature man who would gradually move from a precarious situation to a comfortable one.” Giverny became a great source of inspiration for him.
How to get to Giverny from Paris
Giverny is a tiny village and does not have direct train service from Paris, but you can take a train from Paris's Gare Saint-Lazare station to Vernon, a somewhat larger town located 5km away.
Once you get off the train at the Vernon station, Gare de Vernon-Giverny, you have four choices for travelling to Giverny: a seasonal shuttle bus (navette), taxi, cycling or walking.
The shuttle runs from late March/early April through to late October/early November. It drops you off directly in the Giverny parking lot. The fare is €5 each way, and €10 for a round-trip ticket.
Taxis usually wait for passengers by the station. One-way fares are about €20 for up to 3 people.
The walk to Giverny will take you about an hour or a little less and the path of much of the walk is along the Seine River. Otherwise you can also rent a bike once you get to Vernon.
You can also drive directly to the site, there are extensive (paid) parking facilities in the village.
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