The Best Giverny Tour from Paris: Guide, Group, Hours and Fare

This guide decides one thing: which kind of day to book. The Giverny guided tours you can book from Paris all reach the same house and the same two gardens, and they differ in three ways that matter far more than the price. Who is with you in the gardens. How long you get there. And what the fare pays for. Settle those, and the choice of operator mostly makes itself.

What changes between Giverny tours?

Not the destination. Every day tour here visits Monet's house and his two gardens: the flower garden in front of the house, which the Fondation calls the Clos Normand, and the water garden with the lily pond and the green bridge. The Fondation plans the visit as an unguided one of 90 minutes to two hours.

What changes is everything around that visit. The vehicle runs from a coach of 50 to a private car for three. The time on the ground runs from one hour to three. Some fares name the Monet ticket, some put the visit on the itinerary without naming it, and one leaves it out. Some meet at a Paris café, others at your hotel door.

Is a guide with you in the gardens?

This is the question that shapes your day most, and the one to settle first. There are three answers.

• A guide beside you. The small groups of six and eight from the 16th arrondissement and avenue de Wagram, the Van Gogh days, and most private days. The small group from avenue de Wagram spends 90 minutes in the flower garden with its guide.
• An app and a tour leader. The coach days give you a self-guided app for the house and gardens and a tour leader who rides with you. The small group to Versailles from avenue des Ternes also leaves you on your own at Giverny.
• Nobody. The minivan from western Paris says plainly that you explore on your own, with no licensed guide.

A guide adds the stories of the rooms and the planting, and a route through the crowd. An app gives you the same facts at your own speed. If you have read our page on the house and gardens, part by part, an app may be all you need.

How long do you get in Giverny?

On a half-day from Paris, two to three hours on the ground. The coach gives you 90 minutes for the house and gardens and 90 more in the village. The small group from avenue de Wagram gives three hours, with half an hour at the church and Monet's grave. The group of six from the 16th spends an hour in the village and two in the house and gardens.

The combination days give Giverny less: about two hours on most, and a single hour on the art-historian day to Versailles and on the shore day from Le Havre. If the gardens are the reason for your trip, check this line on the card before anything else.

Half-day or full day?

A half-day runs four and a half to seven hours from Paris and does Giverny alone. You are back in the city by mid-afternoon, with an evening free. A full day runs nine to eleven and a half hours and adds the Palace of Versailles or Van Gogh's village of Auvers-sur-Oise.

Choose the full day for the pairing, not the value. Each place gets about two hours, and the second one is seen tired. Remember the closed days too: the palace shuts on Mondays, and Van Gogh's room in Auvers on Mondays and Tuesdays. Our one-day plan for Giverny and Versailles works through that day in detail.

Coach, minivan or private car?

The coach carries up to 50 from Porte Maillot. It is the cheapest seat, and it parks a 10 to 15 minute walk from the garden entrance. The minivans carry six to eight, usually with a guide who drives, and meet at cafés near the Arc de Triomphe or in the 16th and 17th arrondissements. The private cars carry your party alone, from three to eight people depending on the day.

A smaller vehicle means a quicker start, less waiting for others at each stop, and a guide who can answer your questions. A coach means the lowest fare and free time in the village. The Giverny bus tours and the Giverny Monet garden & house tours set the two side by side.

Does the fare include the ticket?

Most fares name the Monet ticket in what is included, and the card on each page says so. On some private days and on the bike day, the visit sits in the itinerary but no ticket is named. Ask the operator before you book, so you do not pay €13 at the gate by surprise.

The private driver day is the exception: it lists the entrance tickets as excluded. Buy yours online from the Fondation first. Its tickets cannot be refunded, but their date can be changed.

Hotel pickup or a meeting point?

Every private day collects you at your Paris hotel, and some also offer a meeting point in Versailles or in Giverny. Among the shared days, the small group with hotel pickup and the minivan from western Paris come to your door. That minivan does not collect in the 3rd, the 9th to the 13th or the 18th to the 20th arrondissements, so check your address.

The coaches meet at Place du Général Kœnig at Porte Maillot. The small groups meet at a café or brasserie at a stated address, and ask you there early. Our map of the meeting points shows every one.

Which one suits children?

Children under 7 go into the gardens free, and 7 to 17s pay €7 at the gate. Tour fares set their own child prices. Some days set a minimum age: 3 on the minivan from western Paris, 7 on the small groups from avenue de Wagram, avenue de Villiers and avenue des Ternes.

For young children, a short half-day with hotel pickup works best. The minivan from western Paris carries infant seats, and several private days take pushchairs. The coach sets a child fare from age 2 but has no ISOFIX points. Picnics are not allowed in the gardens, so plan lunch in the village. Our post on Giverny with children has more.

What about the refund window?

Most days refund in full if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead. The exceptions: the private half-day with a licensed guide is non-refundable once booked, and the shore day from Le Havre needs six days' notice. The card on each page states the terms in its own words.

The listings that mention the weather run in all conditions. Rain falls on about one day in four through the season, so pack a waterproof rather than a plan B.

Which kind of day fits which traveller?

Here are the kinds of day on sale, with what each one gives you in the gardens.

Our picks by traveller

• First visit, want a guide: the small group of eight from avenue de Wagram, with a guide in the flower garden and three hours on the ground.
• Lowest fare: the coach half-day from Porte Maillot, with the ticket and the app paid and time free in the village.
• Your own pace, door to door: the private day with an art historian, from your hotel for up to seven.
• Young children: the minivan from western Paris, with infant seats and children from 3.
• Keen cyclists: the bike day with a riverside picnic.
• A wheelchair in the party: read our guide for reduced mobility first; the house is not accessible.

Frequently asked questions

Tours for the day you choose

Giverny Monet’s Home and Gardens Half Day Tour from Paris

Six hours from Porte Maillot by coach: 90 minutes across the house and gardens with the app, 90 minutes free in the village, and the Monet ticket paid.

From $80 per person

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Giverny Small-Group Half Day Trip with Monet’s Gardens from Paris

Four and a half hours from avenue de Wagram in a minivan of eight, with a guide beside you in the flower garden and the Monet ticket paid. Ages 7 and over.

From $150 per person

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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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