Giverny and Versailles Day Trip from Paris: Monet House and Baroque Palace Exploration
3.9
212 Ratings
Paris
Experience the beauty of Impressionist art at Monet's Giverny estate and indulge in the opulence of Versailles on this day trip from Paris. Skip the line and explore the Baroque palace and gardens.
Duration:
11 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Fondation Claude Monet - Begin your day by boarding your comfortable, air-conditioned private bus in central Paris. Once inside, you’ll meet your tour co-ordinator, a local expert who’ll accompany you throughout your trip to provide you with insights and stories about the sites you’ll visit.
Your first stop is the Fondation Claude Monet in the village of Giverny. After a brief but fact-packed orientation tour, you’ll be free to explore the Impressionist master’s estate at your leisure. The house has been restored to how it was when Monet himself lived and worked there, and many features of the estate are familiar from his great works – like the ponds carpeted in luscious water lilies.
- Palace of Versailles - Then it’s a short bus ride from Giverny to Versailles, where an official palace guide will escort you past the line, directly into the Sun King’s opulent seat of power. With over 700 rooms and 2,000 acres of gardens, Versailles is magnificent inside and out. You’ll see highlights like the Hall of Mirrors and Salon of Abundance, fountains and secret garden groves, and an art collection to rival the finest museums. In keeping with the surroundings, the royals and courtiers who populated Versailles at its height were larger than life; your guide will share some of the wildest moments of the palace’s history. Depending on the day, your tour may also include the Musical Fountain Show (where water dances in perfect time to classical music) or Musical Gardens (where music accompanies a tour through idyllic glades).
On the ride back to Paris, perhaps you’ll find yourself wondering: which historical lifestyle would you have preferred, Monet’s or Louis XIV’s?
- Jardins du Chateau de Versailles - After your guided visit of the inside of the Palace of Versailles, you will be taken to the extravagant gardens of Versailles. You can roam free along the canal, the fountains and enjoy the last part of the tour
What's Included
- Skip the Line ticket to Monet’s house and gardens
- Headsets provided for clear guidance
- Entrance to Versailles Palace and Gardens
- Round-trip transfer from Paris via air-conditioned coach
- Expert, English-speaking tour guide
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks
Additional Information
Experience the reflective elegance of the Impressionists and the lavish grandeur of the Baroque era in Versailles, all in the relaxing comfort of a private bus trip. Departing from Paris, this day trip takes you to Claude Monet’s lush Giverny estate for a touch of Impressionist charm, followed by a quick access visit to the ostentatious grounds and the palace of Versailles.
- Due to heightened security measures, you may experience delays in clearing security checks when entering Versailles
- Large bags/backpacks/suitcases are not permitted in Versailles. Only very small bags are allowed
- We strongly recommend all clients who are traveling with infants to bring their own infant or child seat. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to ensure the safety of their child.
- Please note that your self-guiding app should be download on your smartphone prior to tour. Credentials and download instructions will be provided on your voucher upon booking. Once downloaded, the app can be used offline. Please ensure that you bring earphones and have enough battery on your phone to enjoy all the content of the self-guided app once inside the House and Gardens of Monet.
Location
Église Notre-Dame de Compassion
Place du Général Kœnig
The meeting point is located in front of the Church Notre-Dame de Compassion (Place du Général Kœnig, 75017 Paris).
The City Wonders representative, dressed in blue and holding a City Wonders sign, will be standing in the middle of the Place du Général Koening, in front of the Church.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.9
(212 Ratings)
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96sichenl
Oct 28, 2023
Interesting and inspirational - Liz is an awesome guide. The trip is much more easier thanks to her.
The tour is very interesting even though the weather is not that good.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Megan_n
Oct 16, 2023
Very well organised & enjoyable. Not rushed. - Well organised tour. Giverny wins hands down! Disappointed that when we booked were promised music & water fountain show at Versailles. However, none of the fountains were even working???
Review provided by Viator
Travel23208803851
Oct 24, 2023
Giverny and Versailles Tour - Went last Saturday with a tour group. Rained all day. Saw some of the flowers - 2nd to last week for tours up until March 2024. Charming surroundings. I imagine the spring time is better as for flowers blooming.
Quiet and peaceful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jacbunchfil
Oct 21, 2023
Lovely visit to Giverny & Versailles - Enjoyed the tour, most especially at Versailles! Giverny was relaxing but the 3-hour time spent was too long. Better to spend an additional hour at Versailles instead as there are more places to see
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Margaret_c
Oct 20, 2023
Must see Monet's garden - Informative guide, the Gardens were awesome. The village and church were an added bonus that we really enjoyed. We had lunch at a little cafe near the church, lovely people great food. Highly recommend this tour
Review provided by Viator
Lisagf187ns
Oct 13, 2023
A bit disorganized and a disappointing guide. - We arrived at the meeting point only to discover I had booked my tour for the following day by accident. The City Wonders people were so very nice and accommodated us for the tour that day. Unfortunately, the guide we had on the bus ride to Giverny was awful. She had only been with the company for a few months and she pronounced Monet's name "Claude Money". Most of us on the bus ride fell asleep with her monotone description of his life. There was some disorganization when we arrived in Versailles, so the entire group had to wait for the other bus to arrive before we were able to move on with our guide. It probably wasted 45 minutes of our Versailles experience but our guide in Versailles was very nice and knowledgeable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fearless10320167093
Oct 13, 2023
Mark your bus stops and do not be late. - The Giverny visit was beautiful. Being on our own gave us time to visit the gardens and spend time where we were most interested. A paper map or a downloadable one showing where the parking lot was would have been helpful. Several of us had some difficulty finding the parking lot.
The Versailles visit was not as good. The guide that we were given spent about 10 minutes where we disembarked from the bus telling us about the visit. The other guide left right away. She could have given us the information as we walked to the entrance. As a result, we got behind some groups that had later arrival times and were unable to get in on time. Then she asked if anyone needed to us the rest room and we waited about 15 minutes for one person to do so. As a result our tour was hurried. Versailles was also very crowed at the time.
We were told to be on the bus at 6:00 p.m. and that it would leave at 6:05. At 5:50, two women got off the bus, I do not know why. A minute later a young man came and found them not on the bus. He went find them. At 5:55 the bus started off, Several people flagged it down ad were able to get on. The two women and the young man were left behind. The driver knew he was leaving people behind but showed no concern.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michellestumpf
Oct 9, 2023
Too much to do in one day, by the time you get to Versailles, it's a mob scene. - If I had this to do over again, I wouldn't take this tour. This is too much crammed into one day.
I'd opt for an earlier start to get to Giverny earlier so you can be there with less people and really be able to enjoy walking around the gardens without feeling like you're walking in a line of people. By the time we were done doing this, there wasn't really time to enjoy the village. And once we got to Versailles -- it was way too crowded to enjoy being inside and not enough time to enjoy the grounds outside so I'd recommend going earlier to Versailles as well.
Review provided by Viator
Stevenzu1434kx
Oct 30, 2023
Beware "Customer Care at Every Step" is just a hollow slogan - On Oct 29, 2023, due to incorrect directions by Versaille staff, we had difficulty in finding the way out of Versailles and were five minutes late for our bus only to see it driving off with items we left on the bus while on tour. Getting back to Paris was not our concern. We wanted our items back. We called City Wonders before the bus returned to Paris who told us to the return to the tour meeting spot the next morning to meet a guide to retrieve our items. We received an email confirming that. The next morning we waited for 1.5 hrs but nobody showed up. When we contacted City Wonders customer service again they said there were no items found. Why were City Wonders unable to tell Elite Coach Services, the bus operator, to secure our items? Why did City Wonders tell us to return to the tour meeting point the next morning if they then said no items were retrieved? "Customer Care at Every Step" is on the website but this is clearly not the case.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeannet365
Oct 16, 2023
Great tour, bad experience with bus driver - First, let me say that the beginning of our tour was wonderful. The bus picked us up on time and our guide Daniella was very knowledgeable. The bus was also clean. Giverny and Versailles are spectacular and a must! The reason for my poor review is that we visited on October 14, 2023 and there was a bomb threat at Versailles during our visit. We were evacuated and returned to our bus. Our bus driver refused to leave the parking lot as a few passengers were missing. We waited on the bus for 40 minutes and the bus driver would not leave. The entire place had been cleared of tourists and he refused. We got off the bus and took an Uber back to Paris. What began as a great day ended with a very poor service experience. It was very stressful as police with AK 47 and bomb squad were all over the place. Our bus driver (I assume) called City Wonders and asked for permission to depart. I am guessing that City Wonders told him not to depart. Not cool putting us at risk.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
