My husband and I visited Giverny last May. We paid an entrance fee at the door. We thought the gardens were simply spectacular and well worth the visit. Enjoy:-)

It is marvelous but it's important to get there as early in the AM as possible for it's apt to be very, very crowded. A wonderful two or three day trip, starting in Paris, would be Giverny then west to Brecy and Canon - the latter not so well-known but romantic and very, very special.

Giverny was, and probably still is, as a one day excursion from Paris. Board the bus on the Rue de Rivoli at the Tuileries Metro exit.
Visiting other urban areas in France? As with the City Hall, a botanical garden in every city and sizeable town is a matter of civic pride in a spirit of competition with other towns. They are expertly maintained and worth looking for.

It is 10 or so years ago now that I visited Giverny.We boarded a bus in Paris,no advance booking was necessary.It was early Oct, and the light was so amazing on the fields we passed.I believe the entrance fee was covered in the bus ticket price.The waterlilies were flowering at the green bridge,and the Colchicums were everywhere laying about on the ground.The gardens showed mostly annuals at that time,but it was an unforgetable day for me-Monet being my favorite artist....there was a peacefulness to the place,and those arches...

If you are interested in Monet, it might be worth it to see "his" garden, otherwise I can recommend a garden far less touristic and absolutely special which is not far from Giverny.
It´s run by two extraordinary gardeners who are artists as well.
Jardin d´art et d´essais
Normanville (Seine- Maritime) attention, there is another "normanville" in the area!!!
Tel: 0235296239
One of the gardeners speaks English.
3000 species and a collection of bamboo.

My wife borught me a packet of wild flower seeds from his garden. They sat in our root celler for two years, until we agreed upon where to plant them in the yard. A wonderful display of bachelor buttons, coleus, and other flowers eventually displayed their color. Enjoy your visit Andrew, and pick up a packet of seeds. David

I went to Giverny last month and thoroughly enjoyed my day outing, especially the walk from Monet's home to the Hotel Baudy where we had lunch. Took a taxi back to Vernon, stopping at the castle and old mill on the Seine. Giverny/Vernon has a wonderful website where you can plan your day: www.giverny.org
I wasn't sure that I wanted to go there since it wasn't spring, but the website assured me that there would be lots in bloom, and so there was. And it was great to get out of Paris and into the countryside, and very easy by train from Gare St Lazare in Paris.

We stayed in Giverny. It was wonderful. There are other amazing gardens in the village as well as the American Impressionist museum. Its the best thing I ever did as a gardener of 44.

Would love to do a group tour of Giverny with some other gardeners. The other gardens in the area sound great too. Monet's garden in spring is a life long dream. Understand April and May are the best times. Anyone interested?