Anniversaries
Monet in Giverny: property opened 40 years ago
Each time I think of Giverny, I get a smile on my face. I visited Monet’s home and gardens only two times. I can remember my walk there as if it was yesterday. I memorized the pond and the smells and colours of the flowers. I still can picture myself while standing on the little bridge with hanging wisterias over me.
Monet´s pond with waterlilies in Giverny – credit photo Veronique Gray
Giverny is for gardens´ lovers, for people who liked Monet and his paintings. It is the best if visited in the Spring and in the Fall.
If you decide to go, you will not be the only visitor there as almost half a million people enter Monet’s home and gardens yearly.
Claude Monet spent half his life in his home in Giverny. He was 43 when he arrived. He died 43 years later in 1926. This year is not only the 180th anniversary of the birth of the most well-known French impressionist painters, but also 40 years since Monet’s home has been opened to the public.
Monet´s home and garden in Giverny – credit photo Veronique Gray
Just like me you will not forget the house: a pink façade with green shutters, a green stairway and green benches, just beautiful. The house is for the most part covered with foliage. Blooming red geraniums, pink rose trees, wisterias, purple and yellow irises, and many water lilies can be seen among other flowers and plants in Monet’s property.
Monet got so much inspiration in Giverny to paint his oil painting waterlilies series (also called nymphaea) and its famous painting of the little Japanese Bridge.
You can also visit the house and the atelier where he painted.
Monet´s garden in Giverny – credit photo Veronique Gray
If you are in the area or visiting Normandy, don’t hesitate to stop by Monet’s gardens.
If you want to visit Monet’s home in Giverny:
Opened from 22 March to November 1st. Entrance fee is 9.50 euros.
Rue Claude Monet. Attention the last entrance is at 5.30 p.m.
Contact Claude Monet’s Foundation:
84 rue Claude Monet
27620 Giverny, Normandie, France
Call (0)2 32 51 28 21
Véronique Gray is French. She has lived most of her life outside of France. She was an expat in Berlin and Frankfurt after almost 10 years in the States. She calls Zurich her home since 2006. She is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Vivamost. She is an entrepreneur, who opened her first business at the age of 25 in Atlanta. After a BA in history and graduating with honours from the University of Atlanta, she later studied journalism. She has been published in various magazines in Great Britain, Canada, France and the USA. In 2009 she started Vivamost after the birth of her son. In 2015 she opened another business in America while continuing to run Vivamost. When she is not writing, you can find her painting, a passion she found later in life. So today when she travels she can’t leave without a pencil or her brushes. She also likes hiking, learning languages, going to the cinema, listening to music and meeting interesting people.
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