Giverny Half Day Guided Trip with Monet's House & Gardens from Paris by minivan

Don’t hesitate. We were impressed.

We were taken to Giverny by Harry who was exceptionally good, friendly funny and super accommodating. We had a been let down with the same tour run by Viator ( who knew there was more than one Notre Dame ) so we missed the tour and they told us absolutely no refund. Anyone thinking of this tour I would certainly recommend France Tourisme.

Terrible traffic

Traffic in Paris meant a 2hr 20min drive to Giverny. Leaving 1 hr 40 minutes there. Also long drive home. Driver was excellent.. Antonio, but I would not recommend this trip until Olympics are over!

Fabulous trip & a most...

Fabulous trip & a most engaging Guide. It was lovely to have so much information before the tour of the house & gardens. Perhaps a little longer to see Giverny could be added to the tour.

A Wonderful Day in Giverny

This was a fantastic way to experience an amazing place. Serge, our guide and driver was awesome, and made this one of our favorite experiences….highly recommend.

Well worth it!

Loved our trip out to Giverney. Our driver/guide was excellent, a very pleasant and friendly guy (sorry I can’t remember his name). I really liked that it wasn’t a full on guided tour. We were given info about Claude Monet and his life, some handy tips on the gardens and Giverney township, and then set out to explore independently. Perfect as we could go at our own pace. Our total group size was 5 and we travelled in a modern comfortable van. Going early was an excellent idea, the queues were insane by lunchtime.

Great use of limited time

Harry was great! He was an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable, good driver, pleasant to chat with. Great way to see giverny while still leaving evening time for other sightseeing too.

Worst Quality “Tour”

Worst experience ever. Driver dropped off in parking lot. Said two things Start in house Meet back here at 11:45 Told driver had lunch reservation and considered taking Uber back. We agreed to meet to confirm. I gave up lunch reservation and driver not only left without confirming with me but would not answer phone Customer service was useless and sided with driver saying I had lunch. Cost 120 euro for car back to Paris. Avoid this company

Money’s Legacy

The gardens are breathtaking. We arrived timely at 8AM to the French Tourism office that was closed until 9 AM. 7 of us stood outside somewhat dumbfounded and waited for our driver 10 minutes late at 8:40. We had an excellent driver, but he offered no touring info. We were cramped in an uncomfortable van intended for 6 passengers. There was no guide for both home and garden. Had we been told this was self-guided, we wouldn’t have been disappointed. I cannot, in good faith, suggest this tour operator.

Gorgeous gardens!

We did the half day tour to Monet house & gardens. The House & gardens are incredible! Our driver met us on time at the office early in morning. . His name I believe was Nicco. He drove out to Giverny. He pointed out things along the way. When we arrived in town he gave us some history of town and told us about Claude Monet. When we got to house he told us to do house, lily ponds and then gardens because it will get busy. He was correct, it gets very very busy. I recommend only doing a early morning tour. It is beautiful! You could spend more time there and in town of Giverny. We were just glad we got to go see it with our limited time in Paris. I gave 4 stars because the vans they use are a little small. It seats 3 in back, 3 in middle , 2 in front plus driver. It is cramped. Not much leg room if you are tall or bigger person. They need bigger vans. If you want more room , then book a private tour .

Friendly helpful and knowledgeable driver/guide.

Serge our driver/guide was friendly and helpful. He went out of his way to make the experience interesting, guiding us through the house and entry to garden, then showing us countryside roads on way back.

Great time at Monet's

Monet's garden, house, and village were great to see. We also had an excellent tour guide who was also a very good driver.

Amazing trip to Monets house.

The location for pickup was easy to find. The driver/guide was amazing, and informative. He gave us great directions to maximize our time at Giverny. I would recommend to everyone.

Beautiful and worth the visit.

I have seen the art, now we have seen the house and gardens. Wonderful place. we did not know it was the peak of the tourist season, so it was packed. However, it was still a beautiful site. The gardens were colorful, well maintained and all combined to provide an inspirational perspective on the artist, his creation and his home. I may have to make another visit at a time with less visitors…that how good the place is.

Wonderful!

Monet’s house is just beautiful and so are the gardens and pond. Also the guide Eduardo, was very good and the van and ride very comfortable. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Better go on your own!

The gardens and the house are beautiful. So this review is not about the actual destination or the location. The poor review is about the tour. The tour is basically only transportation. Our guide/driver provided absolutely no information prior to the tour. I understand this was a self-guided tour but having been on many self-guided tours in the past, I thought there would at least be some information provided prior to the tour about Monet, Giverny, or the gardens. Nothing at all. The car ride was complete silence. The drive through the countryside is beautiful and it would have been nice to have some explanations along the way. It would have probably been cheaper to get an Uber for our party of 3. Not worth the money at all.

GET AWAY FROM FRANCE TOURISM!!!

Please, don't book any tour with this agency. We booked this tour with France Tourisme in March 2023, 4 months in advance. We dthe hotel based in the location of the tour. Today (July 15th), less then 24 hs to the tour (July 16th) we received a phone call around 6pm saying the tour was cancelled because they didn't have enough people for it. LESS THEN 24 HS TO THE TOUR. I can't cancel a tour less then 24h but they can!!! Why they didn't inform us 2 or 3 days before so we could book this tour with another agency . We just have tomorrow for do it. So, think 2, 3 or 5 times before bokk sonthing with them.

Good tour but not a guided tour

Don’t think of this as a guided tour, but transportation to Giverny and entrance ticket to house. The driver brings you and leaves you at the door and you tour on your own. As far as the drive goes, Eduardo was great an did give some history along the way, but not inside the house. He was professional and courteous. If this was listed as transportation and ticket, I would have given five stars. But as a guided tour, it’s a one. So I averaged to a three.

Impressions of Monet

Great weather provided the best backdrop to visit the home and studio of Claude Monet. The flower gardens,water lily pond, the bridges that he portrayed in his paintings were given a new perspective through experiencing them in person.

The driver was nice and...

The driver was nice and efficient. This isn't really a tour so much as a driver and an express pass into the house and garden. We were fine with this, but it isn't a tour so much. The garden, pond and house are really nice, but super crowded.

Enjoying the moment

A great afternoon at Giverny on a busy holiday weekend. The gardens were magnificent, the driver friendly and helpful.

Full day tour of Giverny + Auvers-sur-Oise

Excellent service by France Tourisme. The Guide - Roland was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. My mother is a wheelchair user and guide ensured that we get priority and proper access in Giverny. The car was also very comfortable and new. Highly recommend this tour...

Not to be missed...Giverny

The van driver was personable and gave us some guidance before he led us to the gardens. The other passengers were friendly. We had a lovely time viewing the gardens and later touring the house.

Loved this!

Our guide Eduardo (from Mexico) was excellent! He had nerves of steel while driving through Paris and was fun/informative in Giverney.

Giverny - Mainly for transportation

It was wonderful to be driven out to/from Giverny in a mini-van and to be given the freedom to go through the beautiful gardens and Monet’a house at our leisure - given our 2 kids. There was no tour and the only reason to go is if you need transportation. Our driver did answer all of our questions though but did not attend the gardens with us.

The door lock to our...

The door lock to our hotel room was broken and we had to wait for a locksmith so we could get back in the room to retrieve my daughters inhaler.I texted the number I was provided and called multiple times as well as the general number to let them know we were going to miss the train and therefore be late to our meeting place.I inquired about the afternoon session or anytime next few days.I also sent a text message asking for our tickets at the very least.I received no response from anyone.I then had to reschedule the trip and transportation with another company.Very disappointed in the lack of service.

Giverny Monet gardens

I really enjoyed the Monet gardens trip. It was a beautiful day and beautiful gardens. It was a great escape from the busy city. Our driver was very courteous.

Misleading! They do not give you a guided tour

I would NOT recommend this. I purchased tickets for a "guided trip", but this is not that. You have a driver who speaks for 5 minutes in the car, and then when you arrive, they speak for 5 minutes (I timed it) outside of the estate. Then you go in and do your two hour tour COMPLETELY alone. You are better off paying for the transportation and buying the cheap audio tour when you get there. But the advertising on this tour is COMPLETELY misleading, as they do not actually give you any tour. (I really want a refund, to be honest.)

Excellent experience

The guide was held up due to the traffic but made up for time and we had an excellent journey and explored the house and garden finishing off with tea in the tea rooms..well worth worth visit if you're a Monet fan.

I booked an English bus...

I booked an English bus tour with a tour guide to Giverny. Of the 8 of us 6 were Spanish speaking several with no English. The entire tour was in Spanish then a short English translation of some info. Information given was scant at best. I was so disappointed because I had taken this same tour about 7 years ago and it was wonderful- so much info given about Giverny and about France itself . I was bringing my husband this time and it was awful . I will not be using viator again

Book directly through France Tourism for best value

The trip itself was fine. It was the fact that I overpaid by 25€ because I booked through an online company that made it not good value for money.

Excellent half day trip

Beautiful place, history, personality! Excellent guide and transportation! Great half-day experience outside Paris in a green environment.

Great place to visit

Monet’s house and garden was very lovely, and definitely worth going there. That being said, it may be best to just purchase the ticket and go on your own. It isn’t a guided tour. The guide will just drive you to Giverny and give very little surface-level information.

Beautiful but not guided tour.

I loved seeing Monet’s house and gardens. However our time was short because the traffic getting out of Paris was so heavy. I felt they should have still given us 2 hours there. Also this is NOT A GUIDED TOUR. This is simply transportation plus a brochure. We had a knowledgeable driver but we were in the back of the van so could not hear the conversation he had with those in front. He did answer questions when we spoke up from back.

Monet Canceled

I came from the United States with 3 children and had booked and paid in advance. The day of my tour, your company failed to deliver because your guide was sick. It was your duty to find another suitable guide instead you canceled my tour altogether. This was unacceptable and since it was the day of I was unable to make other arrangements.

Lovely, sunny Spring day trip out

A great place to visit on a sunny day, especially in Spring! It wasnt a guided tour, just a car journey to Giverny, a 2 or so hour walk around on our own exploring the gardens and the area and then a lift back to Paris. We did manage to enter through a special no-queue entrance though!

Never

The trip was Cancelled last minute and no one has gotten back to me . I would like a refund or reschedule ASAP.

Gorgeous gardens and awesome day

Have always wanted to go to these gardens and they definitely lived up to my expectations. We went in October and it was way better as not as many tourists around. We got information about Monet as well as free time to explore.

Beautiful but crowded!

The gardens were beautiful, lush and more than we could have wished. But it was so crowded on a Saturday I felt like we were in Times Square on New Years eve. Try to avoid weekends. Also, our tour guide was lovely in the coach, but didn’t accompany us to the gardens, while I noticed other tours had guides with them.

Great experience

Jeremy was knowledgeable, friendly and charming. We had a Sunday morning tour, just myself and my daughter, and he answered all our questions and gave us suggestions and looked up information for us for us for the remainder of our stay in Paris. I would highly recomend this company.

Easy and smooth!

We took our 6 year old with us on this tour, and we were happy that everything was so easy and smooth! Our group was small (we were just in a van), but the ride was comfortable and air conditioned. Our guide pointed out interesting points of interest as we drove, which we really enjoyed. The guide walked us right to the entrance, with clear instructions where we were to meet after our tour, and we were left on our own. We loved that freedom. We had plenty of time to enjoy and take everything in. The gardens were gorgeous, in full bloom, and the house just as lovely. We walked through the well-stocked gift shop (though we didn't buy anything; there is plenty to choose from!) and enjoyed some absolutely delicious ice cream sold from a van (sounds sketchy, but it was truly some of the most delicious we've ever had!) We'd absolutely recommend this for anyone. Our six year old enjoyed herself, too!

Exactly What We Needed

Not so much a tour, but hassle free transportation. We were in Paris for the record heat of 108 degrees. The hour and a half of air conditioning (each way) Made us able to make the best of our 2 HRs. In Giverny. We really would not have wanted to spend more time. We were surprised at how bountiful the gardens were despite the heat! Loved it!

Short and Sweet!

This tour was a nice, succinct trip to Monet's house and gardens. The guide drove us in a van from the meeting point to Giverny where we had about two hours to look around the house and gardens on our own. This was ample time for us, and the guide provided nice information about Monet and the area on our drive to Giverny.

Giverny is amazing ... tour company not too organized

Monet's gardens are a must-see … they were a highlight of our week in Paris. The tour company, however, was not organized enough. We showed up early and were told there was a problem with the bus/van and we had to wait. That wasn't a problem … but while we were waiting outside a young man approached us saying he worked for the tour company and would tell us about the Town Hall down the street while we waited for the van. We walked half a block down with him and he attempted to explain the building, but it was clear that he was inexperienced and was reading from a brochure. Still not a problem … however when we walked back to the office they told us the van had come and left without us. They seemed uncertain about getting the van to come back … but we insisted and the van did come back to pick us up. The driver (Alex) was very friendly told us a few things about Giverny... but it was hardly the background that was promised in the description of the tour. And when we got to Giverny he said we needed to meet him in 1 hour 45 minutes since we were running late and he had an afternoon tour. Considering we were supposed to have 2 hours in Giverny and it wasn't our fault they were late, even missing 15 minutes of our time there wasn't cool. That said … the gardens and water gardens are spectacular. I guess you get what you pay for … this company was a lot less expensive than some of the others.

Oversold

Absolutely oversold 8 euro to get in however was charged 65 euro to include bus ride. Tour guide did next to nothing. Go by train pay 8 euros

This was NOT a tour..... It was a BUS ride..... and overcharged

totally disappointing... 1. overcharged us compared to what everyone else paid for their tickets 2. What they called a Tourist Guide did not even introduce herself.... and then read from a script for 5 minutes in each of 3 languages and then sat back and chatted to Bus Driver. Didn't engage with the people in any way. 3. we arrived at Giverny and were left at the entrance and told we had about 1 1/2 hours......and she would meet us at the exit..... there was no commentary. We didn't get time to go through the house not the shop or cafe..... to pay 65 euro for an 8 euro entrance fee is a rip off.... 4. On the journey back... no acknowledgement or conversation... Saturday there and went to sleep. not good enough Margot...... just an overpriced Bus Ride My advice.... catch train then bus and spend the whole day soaking up the beauty of this place

Disappointing

No airco in the bus. Guide was not interested in one person who had difficulty walking. Trip from bus to garden 12 minutes. He could not see the garden , had to start walking back to be in time for departure. When he arrived at bus, was not allowed to go in. Time in garden one hour. Guide did not tell us where exit was, toilets etc. her English was very bad. People has to be warned in advance that time is limited and walking is difficult.

Monet's home and garden were beautiful

But... the bus was over a half hour late and there was no AC in the bus, so it was very warm and stuffy for the hour long ride. I realize the delay was due to traffic but I feel like some accomodation should have been made. Our time allowed at the garden and house was about an hour and 20 miinutes....I felt very rushed to see it all....no time to just enjoy the beautiful garden.

Giverny was magnificent. The Tour itself was horrible!

The tour guide was awful. We learned nothing from her. We left 30 minutes late and she slept the ride back to Paris. She didn’t give any details or fun facts. No background on Giverny or Monet. I took this tour years ago and the tour guide talked the entire time and we learned so much!!! This one basically handed us tickets and that was it. My mom who wasn’t with us a few years ago was so disappointed. Giverny was beautiful though. But what a mess this was.

A bit of a late start but an enjoyable trip

I did book tickets to travel independently to Giverny but there was a train strike when I got to the Gare St Lazare in the morning. Therefore I booked an afternoon trip for the same day on the internet which should have departed at 13:30 but was late (understandable given the Paris traffic). The driver was very apologetic and said we would stay on a bit longer at Giverny so I was happy with that. The coach was not full so we had plenty of space to spread out. The guide gave us a little mini tour of Paris as we left which was nice as they were setting up for Bastille day. As the strike was on Giverny was not very busy so it was the idea day to go. The guide gives you a little brochure/map and tells you what time to meet him out front so you can basically go at your own pace. I had plenty of time to visit the gardens and Monet's house and just sit in the gardens and admire the wonderful flowers. It was June so the waterlillies were out and the weather was glorious. Everyone goes straight to the pond so I would advise you go to the house first and then the pond. There are some original paintings in the house but a lot are just reproductions. If I had travelled independently I would have been able to explore more of the town itself which looked interesting and it would have worked out cheaper (you do get a discount for booking on-line) but I am glad I had the option of this tour. There was a toilet and a water dispenser at the office and a small waiting room. I did overhear the staff at the office giving very dubious advice to other tourists but I guess they have to sell the tours. Special props to the driver coming back in the rush hour traffic which was horrendous especially around the Place de la Concorde.

Half dat... more like half an hour!

This trip was so rushed that we basically had no time at Giverny. We got there a little before 830, and we left basically on time. It seemed to take quite a while to get ther and we finally got off the bus around 840 but didn’t get in until around 8:45. We were told to be at the exit at 11:15. We had to basically run through the lily pond and Gare dis and skipped parts of them, then run through the house and had about 2 minutes to look in the gift shop. I would never recommend this to anyone. It was way to rushed. The only reason we did t go on our own and take the train is because they were on strike, so this was the only thing available the night before. Don’t waste you travel time or money on this trip. I do however recommend d going. The lily pond and gardens are beautiful. They house has a lot of his paintings as well as a few Renoir’s. You need to travel on your own by train to enjoy yourself.