Versailles + Giverny In One Day

Two iconic homes & gardens in one day
Discover two of the most iconic homes and gardens in French culture on this small group day trip from Paris! You’ll explore King Louis the 14th Palace and outstanding French Gardens in Versailles and also discover the inspiration Claude Monet found in his colorful home and gardens in Giverny.

Giverny and Versailles are less than a 1 hour drive west of Paris, so combining them both into one day trip is easy and relaxed. This tour starts with the calm and almost other worldly beauty of Claude Monet’s Home and Gardens in Giverny. Learn about the famous Impressionist artist and then enjoy free time to explore inside his vibrantly colored home, stroll along the charming paths of his flower garden, and admire the water garden with the Japanese bridge and lake full of his famous water lilies.

In the afternoon the guide will share the scandals surrounding the French Revolution and Marie-Antoinette during your visit to the Royal Domain of Versailles. You’ll enjoy Skip-the-line access into the Palace itself and have free time to explore inside with an audio-guide. Visit the Royal Apartments, the stunning Hall of Mirrors, and then wander through the famously organized French Gardens.

Only minutes from Paris!
Start your day of exploration with a short 45 minute drive through the countryside from Paris to Giverny where Monet’s Home and Gardens are. You’ll be one of the first to visit the estate in the morning allowing you to appreciate the calm and artistic aspects of the gardens before other tourists start to arrive. Inside the gardens our guide will share interesting stories about Claude Monet’s life and some of the paintings inspired by his home and gardens in Giverny.

Then you’ll enjoy almost 2 hours of free time to visit the interior of Monet’s brightly colored home and stroll through the gardens at your leisure. Inside his home, of more than 40 years, you’ll see his personal rooms as well as the artistic studio where he finished thousands of his works. The many pieces of art from other great artist friends such as Renoir and Pissarro as well as Monet’s large collection of Japanese block prints in blue will also impress you.

Monet’s Gardens and Final Resting Place
Outside of the house you’ll marvel at the lovely gardens designed by Claude Monet himself. You’ll admire the thousands of beautiful flowers in the Clos Normand garden and you’ll feel as though you’re walking in one of Monet’s famous Nymphea paintings in the Japanese styled garden where the colorful water lilies fill the lake with delicate charm.

It wouldn’t quite be right to only visit the home and gardens and not the man who lived in them so your next stop will be the charming little church of Sainte Radegonde. Here in this humble country churches graveyard you’ll have the chance to pay your respects to Claude Monet himself. Afterwards you’ll drive to Versailles for a very different adventure in a gilded Palace and it’s perfectly planned gardens laid out in the classical French style.

Versailles: the Magnificent
In Versailles you’ll have a 1 hour lunch break at a traditional French creperie. The menu has many different savory and sweet crepes to meet all your dietary needs, tastebuds desires, and budgeting wishes. After lunch the guide will share an interesting introduction to the famous kings and queens who built and lived in Versailles. You’ll learn about our Sun King: Louis the 14th who reigned for 72 years and our infamous queen of cake: Marie-Antoinette who lost her head to the Guillotine.

Touring the French gardens with your guide you’ll learn about the many different legends and secrets they hold. Then you’ll enjoy special priority access into the Palace itself where you’ll be able to visit at your own pace with an audio-guide. The luxurious decorations are sure to impress and you’ll marvel at the elegance in the famous Hall of Mirrors. At the end of the visit to the Palace you will be brought back to Paris in comfort and dropped off at the Arch de Triomphe.