The day I visited there were volunteers cleaning the lily leaves, just as in Monet’s day. He wanted them to look pristine and James keeps the tradition up, wiping the dust from time to time to keep them healthy and looking beautiful.
You can’t help but imagine the painter sitting here, obsessed and yearning to capture the colour and the light that he saw in later years as his sight deteriorated.
Monet’s House
Monet’s house is a true delight and an unexpected bonus if you’re only going for the gardens. I was lucky to see it on a sunny autumn day and the rooms were filled with light which poured through windows which were thrown open to give spectacular framed views of the garden.
It was a family home, Monet, his wife and two sons and his wife’s six children from her first marriage lived here. Shades of blue and yellow predominate and it’s a place that has a magical atmosphere. You almost feel as though Monet himself will return at any moment to sit at the table in the dining room or smoke a pipe in the reading room or perhaps he has nipped out to the garden to pick flowers to fill the rooms with yet more colour.
Monet is buried in a modest spot at the churchyard at Giverny, his coffin was carried as he requested, by his gardeners. The house and gardens were eventually bequeathed to the Académie des Beaux Arts by Monet’s son Michel and restored to their former glory and status as a living work of art.
Website: Fondation-Monet.com for details of opening times and tickets.
See over page for things to do in Giverny...