Giverny

On the way back to Paris to end our Rick Steves tour, we stopped at the Giverny to view the house and gardens of Claude Monet. Monet travelled by train from Paris to LeHavre, where his family lived, and passed often through Giverny. Through the train window he saw a house and some land for sale, considered it and decided to buy it. He first planted the house flower garden and later bought additional land, diverted some water from the river and developed the water gardens which are so well known from his paintings. While there are no original Monet paintings in the house, there are some duplicates to see, but the real star are the gardens themselves. Monet lived in Giverny until his death and he is buried at the local church.