After a long walking tour through the streets of Paris, I found myself seated on a wooden stool in a pub near Montmartre. “Hey,” I said to the charming English tour guide, “you’ve been here a while. Where can I get out to the countryside? I want to go cycling.”
He clapped his hands together and rubbed them like he had been waiting for someone to ask him all morning. “You’ve got to check this place out! Do you like Monet? Don’t know anything about him? Go anyway.”
Which is how I found myself on a rickety train out of Paris the next day.
The quaint towns of Vernon-Giverny, about an hour outside of Paris, are most notably known for the gardens where impressionist painter Claude Monet found his muse.
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Vernon-Giverny is located about 70km outside of metropolitan Paris. Several group tours depart from Paris at a much higher price than if you go solo.
The cheapest and most common way to go is from the Gare-Saint Lazare station.
My roundtrip ticket cost around 17 Euros. On the way back, I decided to take an earlier train and there was a plus 3 Euro charge.
You can find exact train time departures and prices with Omio.
The total journey takes around 40 minutes and puts you up close with the stunning French countryside.
There are frequent shuttle buses from the station to the gardens, but I had planned to rent a bicycle from a store near the station. It is about 12 euros for the entire day to cycle through the dreamy French countryside.
But, as we all know, sometimes we travel and Mother Nature is not on our side. The exact second I stepped off the train and made it outside, the rain came down in sheets. A drizzle to moderate rain I would have been able to ignore, but I could hardly see a few meters in front of me.
I stood there, laughing at the sheer dumb luck, wondering what I was going to do.
Then, magically, the universe decided it was on my side.
Le Petit Train - The Little Train - came chugging right to my aid.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When rain crushes the chance to cycle through the French countryside, hop on a tiny choo choo.
Audio played overhead in French and English explaining the town’s history.
On the way back from the gardens in the evening, the little conductor even drove us by his house and showed us his little family.
The village is most famous for the home of Claude Monet, who turned an abandoned home into his own Secret Garden.
After a charming ride on Le Petit Tren through the villages, you arrive at Monet's abode. Before entering the gardens, take time to wander through the countryside.
During high season, it is highly advised to purchase tickets in advance here as there can be a long wait, but, due to the rain, I was lucky to not have to wait at the ticket window.
The garden is not just beauty to behold. It begs for you to immerse yourself and walk in the footsteps of inspiration. Monet's muse is not just his alone. What can you create from it?
In the house (see here for a virtual tour of his quaint residence!), where several of Monet’s paintings hang, there is a detailed history explaining how Japanese printmaking inspired his works.
There was a constant love story, one of admiration and respect, between the figurehead of the Impressionist movement and Japanese prints.
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