Monet's Garden in Giverny

Bonjour,

after using the search function and have not find the information I need:

We would like to go to Monet's Garden in Giverny in October.

Transport is no problem: we will drive ourselves from Le Havre.

The Question:

Does it still make sense to visit Monet's Garden in fall or should we better wait and do it in spring or summer?

Merci bien for your suggestions.

Regards,

HeinBloed

I'll be honest, I just don't know.

However, let me throw in another perspective: I'm absolutely certain that the garden, whenever you visit it, will not be as beautiful as Monet's paintings of it. For one thing, over 100 years have passed, and it might just be that what was out in the country may now be in a suburb of a town. And secondly (and probably more importantly) Monet saw it with an artist's eye; most of us tend to see such places 'photographically' i.e. as they actually are. There might be disappointment ahead!

I say all this because I've recently decided not to do an excursion to Monet's Garden on our forthcoming mini-cruise on Braemar, which calls at Honfleur. Instead we're going to visit Bayeux and see a) the cathedral, and b) the Tapestry.

In late Sept., the water lilies were not in bloom. The gardens were full of roses and dalhias. The house itself houses only reproductions--originals in Monet museum in Paris. The area around Giverney is lovely. It is a lovely day trip. Good luck. Pat Thanks for your info on the baltic site.

Bonjour,

 

after using the search function and have not find the information I need:

 

We would like to go to Monet's Garden in Giverny in October.

Transport is no problem: we will drive ourselves from Le Havre.

 

The Question:

 

Does it still make sense to visit Monet's Garden in fall or should we better wait and do it in spring or summer?

 

Merci bien for your suggestions.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

There is American garden, free, just up the lane from Monet,s, well worth the visit, the area close buy is picturesque,so Yes, make a visit

We visited Giverny in early October (2005) and it was the most perfect time. The weather was wonderful (not too hot or cold) and the best part was that since we were a little outside the tourist season, there were no queues or crowds. There is also a nice cafe right down the street (easy stroll) where you can relax with a snack and some wine/beer.

Hank

My 18 year old son visited the gardens with me in July. He said the upper level looked like the garden section of the Home Depot! He would have preferred a different excursion.:)

Bonjour,

 

after using the search function and have not find the information I need:

 

We would like to go to Monet's Garden in Giverny in October.

Transport is no problem: we will drive ourselves from Le Havre.

 

The Question:

 

Does it still make sense to visit Monet's Garden in fall or should we better wait and do it in spring or summer?

 

Merci bien for your suggestions.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

My 18 year old son visited the gardens with me in July. He said the upper level looked like the garden section of the Home Depot! He would have preferred a different excursion.:)

Hmmm. Ok, we will admit to being very big fans of Impressionism and love Monet's works. We thought the gardens were very interesting, particularly when you cross the road and go into the area with the waterlillies, bridge, etc. Since we were there on a crystal clear day, we could see all the reflections in the pond and it really helped us understand why Monet liked to paint the reflections. As to Monet's home, we also enjoyed seeing all the Japanese art works since Monet was a big fan of Japanese work and was a collector of this work. When you think about Japanese art, much of it could be classified as impressionism, but on an oriental plane. Ok, its been fun sounding like a know-it-all art critic ( I know nothing about art), but for fans of Monet seeing Giverny is like going to a shrine.

Hank

As to Monet's home, we also enjoyed seeing all the Japanese art works since Monet was a big fan of Japanese work and was a collector of this work. When you think about Japanese art, much of it could be classified as impressionism, but on an oriental plane.

The Japanese art: are these Hiroshige / Hokusai -type works? If so, I might see if I can change my excursion....

The Japanese art: are these Hiroshige / Hokusai -type works? If so, I might see if I can change my excursion....

Tom, You are really putting my art knowledge to a test, and I failed art in school (I think that was back in the 19th century). There is an interesting article about Monet's love of Japanese art you can read at

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1573943,00.html

As the article mentions, much of the art at the Giverny house are copies although the quality is certainly excellent.

Hank

Tom, You are really putting my art knowledge to a test, and I failed art in school (I think that was back in the 19th century). There is an interesting article about Monet's love of Japanese art you can read at

 

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...573943,00.html

 

As the article mentions, much of the art at the Giverny house are copies although the quality is certainly excellent.

Yes, those were the sort of thing I was thinking of. It's interesting - these prints were mass-produced in Japan, by co-operative effort between the original line-drawing artist, the block-maker, the printer, and indeed the publisher, who commissioned an edition and then attempted to recoup their outlay through sales. They were quite 'mass-market' and seem to have been regarded as ephemeral within Japan, but when they reached Europe & America they had a huge impact on numerous painters. Van Gogh was also deeply affected by them, as was (in a completely different field, and rather later) Frank Lloyd Wright. But this is all by-the-by. The important thing to know is that there are number of a ukiyo-e prints at Giverny. I hadn't known that. Thank you!

We visited the house and garden in late October and the flowers were spectacular and weather perfect. As gardeners, we really enjoyed seeing this and have many beautiful pictures. Depending on the microclimate, some gardens, including many featuring roses, are best in autumn.

My 18 year old son visited the gardens with me in July. He said the upper level looked like the garden section of the Home Depot! He would have preferred a different excursion.:)

I hope that our Home Depot's Garden Section would look like this:

The best is to get by car to this place.

EUROPCAR, AVIS and NATIONAL are based round the corner of the LD Ferry Terminal in Le Havre...

You never know how much you buy and to get back from the "Home Depot"...

Regards,

HeinBloed

Thanks to everybody who encouraged us to visit to Giverny. This was really nice and relaxing!

Just an "attack" to my senses like eyes and nose!!!

Beautiful...

Oh - the next picture is taken in the Vegetable Section of WAL-MART:

Fresh Mushrooms... could not find the cream sauce...

And for those who go by car: abt. 12 minutes away:

LA ROCHE-GUYON - just beautiful and a good place to eat at the Seine-Riverboard and not at tourist prices like in Giverny.

Salut de la France!!!

HeinBloed

HeinBloed, We are glad that you had a great time at Giverny. Your pictures do bring back lots of good memories and it appears the weather was very cooperative. By the way, we did not know they had Home Depot in Germany.

Hank

Whether you view the gardens as a photographer or as a painter, when you see it, no matter the time of year, you will get it: IT'S ABOUT THE LIGHT. Thank you so much for the pictures--it brought smiles to my face. In fact, I took some of the same pix!!!!!

Just a reminder for those still planning on going to the gardens. They are closed on Mondays.......

I visited the Gardens in June last year & fell in love with the place.

The house & gardens are beautiful & the lily pond was just as I imagined it to be.

A tip for anyone who is not so able bodied or parents with a pushchair, ask at the main entrance for them to open the gates to cross the road, this saves you having to go down the steps into the tunnel that takes you to the Lily garden.