Monet settled in Giverny in 1883 with his children, his girlfriend Alice (who became later his second wife) and her children.
After the death of his first wife, he looked for a long time for a place to live and paint and discovered this quiet farmer’s village, surrounded by a great variety of natural landscapes.
He was 43 then and had painted more than 800 canvases, his name started being known. Here, he was able to give the best of himself in his two passions : gardening and painting. His gardens looked like his way of painting : plenty of small stitches of colors side by side.
In Giverny and around he did several hundreds of paintings : you probably know about the Haystacks, the Poplars, the Poppies, the Irises…
He spent the rest of his life here, until his death in 1926.
Visiting Monet’s home is like discovering the privacy of the master, being surprised by his Japanese prints collection, and feeling jealous of his beautiful kitchen, full of light of course ! Then you will go and explore the grounds following the colorful lanes, full of flowers, different according to the season. You will find a small tunnel to get to the other side of the road, in a completely different garden : a large pond, with bamboos and weeping willows around, one can recognize the most famous Japanese bridge and the Water lilies.
According to the time left over, your guide can accompany you to the Museum of Impressionisms, or let you walk around the village, to the church and the cemetery where Claude Monet rests with his family members.