Giverny with Reduced Mobility: The House, the Gardens, the Tours

This guide is for visitors who use a wheelchair, walk with difficulty, or push a pushchair. The short version is mixed. The gardens are accessible to people with reduced mobility; Monet's house is not wheelchair accessible. A few Giverny private tours and shared days can help with the rest. Here is what the Fondation says, what the listings say, and how to plan around both.

Is Monet's house accessible?

No. The Fondation states that the house is not wheelchair accessible. The visit runs through several rooms on the ground floor and the bedrooms upstairs, and it is the one part of the site a wheelchair user cannot enter.

That still leaves most of the visit. The pink house with its green shutters faces the flower garden, and you see its front across the beds. Our page on the house and gardens, part by part describes the rooms, if someone in your party goes in while you wait.

Can you see the gardens in a wheelchair?

The Fondation says the gardens are accessible to people with reduced mobility. The Clos Normand, the flower garden, is laid out in rectangular beds along a central path under iron arches, and the water garden lies across the railway line from it.

Be ready for the ground. One small-group operator warns that the paths are gravel, that there are steps to climb, and that a walker is not much help. Allow more time than the Fondation's 90 minutes to two hours, and go early, before the paths fill.

Which entrance should you use?

The group entrance on the Sente Leroy. The Fondation gives priority access there to visitors who show a disability card, ahead of the queue at the individual entrance on rue Claude Monet.

If you arrive by car, the free car parks are in the village near the house. If you come by train to Vernon-Giverny station, the last 5 km is by shuttle, bike or on foot, so a door-to-door car is much easier.

What does it cost with a disability card?

A visitor with a disability pays €6 in 2026, against €13 for an adult. The person with them pays the full adult rate. Proof of eligibility is asked for at the gate, as it is for every reduced fare.

In a group of 20 or more, a disabled visitor also pays €6, and one companion goes in free. Tour fares set their own prices, so ask the operator about a reduced fare.

Which tours can take a wheelchair?

The private days that mark themselves suitable for wheelchairs are the private driver day, the private half-day with a licensed guide and the art-historian day to Versailles. That covers the car and the guide, not the house, which stays closed to a wheelchair whichever day you book.

Each is a door-to-door day from your Paris hotel. The private driver day takes up to seven for about five hours, with a driver and guide and bottled water, but its fare leaves the Monet ticket out. The half-day with a licensed guide who drives takes up to seven for four and a half hours; it needs two travellers and cannot be refunded. The art-historian day spends nine hours on the palace and the gardens together.

The coach days say plainly that they are not wheelchair accessible, and no shared day says it takes one. Ask the operator about the ramp or the lift in the car, and the folding size of the chair, before you pay.

What about pushchairs and small children?

Several private days take pushchairs and carry infant seats, among them the private day with an art historian. The minivan from western Paris and the group of six from the 16th carry infant seats too.

At the gardens, the Fondation publishes a bag rule rather than a pushchair rule: only a cabin-size bag of at most 55 x 35 x 20 cm, and nowhere to leave anything larger. Ask your operator where a pushchair travels on the day, and keep the bag small.

Is the museum along the street easier?

Yes. The Musée des impressionnismes, at 99 rue Claude Monet, says its whole building is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility, including the toilets. Its restaurant, garden, shop and auditorium are accessible to wheelchairs too.

It lends a wheelchair on reservation, and a pushchair on reservation for visitors whose baby carrier is not allowed in the galleries. It prints visit guides in a large font for visitors with low vision. Admission is €12, and free under 18.

How much walking is there?

More than the map suggests. The coach parks a 10 to 15 minute walk from the garden entrance. Inside, the two gardens are separate, and you walk between them. Any exit from the site is final, so you cannot step out to rest in the village and come back.

A private car shortens the walk at each end. If you tire easily, see the house first if you can, then the flower garden, and save the pond for last.

Which time of day is easiest?

Early. The gardens open at 10 am, and travellers find the first hour the quietest. The paths are emptier and the queue for the house is shorter. Weekends and public holidays are the busy days, when the Fondation asks you to book.

Avoid the middle of the day if you can, when the house is busiest. The gardens close at 6 pm, with last admission at 5.30 pm, which gives a quieter late slot on a long summer day.

What if you have low vision or hearing loss?

At Monet's house and gardens, the Fondation publishes no provision beyond priority access and the reduced fare, so ask at the group entrance. A guide who describes what you pass is worth more here than on most visits, and a private day lets you set the pace of the description.

The museum along the street does more. Its large-print visit guides are free at the reception desk. For its exhibition audioguide, which costs €4, it lends induction loops at the desk at no extra charge, so a hearing-aid user can follow the commentary.

What should you pack?

• A small bag only: the cabin-size limit of 55 x 35 x 20 cm applies to every visitor, and there is nowhere to leave a larger one.
• Proof of disability: for the priority entrance and the €6 fare.
• A waterproof: rain falls on about one day in four in the season, and the gardens are outdoors.
• Water and a snack: picnics are not allowed in the gardens, but the restaurant Les Nymphéas faces the house.
• Shoes with grip: for the gravel and the steps.

Can you bring an assistance dog?

Yes. The Fondation allows recognised assistance dogs and no other pets. The museum along the street welcomes assistance dogs too. Tell your tour operator in advance, so the vehicle is ready.

Private or shared for reduced mobility?

Private, in most cases. A private day comes to your hotel, sets its own pace and can pause when you need it. The Giverny private tours include the days that accept a wheelchair. A shared day works for a visitor who walks with a stick and can manage gravel and steps, on the shorter half-days.

For a first look at what each kind of day includes, our guide to choosing a tour sets them side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Days that can take a wheelchair or pushchair

Giverny Half-Day Trip from Paris with Private Driver

A private driver-guide from your Paris hotel for up to seven, wheelchairs and pushchairs accommodated; the entry to Monet's house is paid on top.

From $392 per person

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Giverny Half-Day Guided Tour from Paris

A private half-day from your Paris hotel with a licensed guide who drives, and pre-booked entry. The fare cannot be refunded.

From $440 per person (minimum 2)

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Monet's Gardens & House-Private Giverny Tour From Paris

Five hours door to door from your Paris hotel with an art historian, priority admission paid, and pushchairs and infant seats on board for up to seven.

From $499 per person

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