If you have a few days in Paris, visiting the gardens and the house of the famous painter in Giverny is highly recommended.

It’s a wonderful and inspiring place of peace and beauty, and the inspiration for Monet’s work.

The official Website of the Monet Foundation, including a virtual tour: https://fondation-monet.com/

It's an amazing garden!

I don't buy the first line: "Artists’ gardens are a living expression of their creativity" and I feel like art critics are always saying bs like this with no basis, but it's a truly lovely garden.

What don't you buy about it?

Some may not have a garden at all.

That fact is not at odds with how I read the author.

And although I am sure there are artists with practical vegetable gardens, artists who neglect their withering house plants, and souther artists whose gardens are overrun by kudzu, that doesn’t bother me in the context of the article.

When I read the article I am thinking about gardens like Monet’s and not everything that might be a garden and owned by someone who might be called an artist. I just don’t think that’s what the author meant.

It’s hyperbole not bullshit.

One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Highly recommend the day trip up if you find yourself in Paris.

The house is also very beautiful, especially the kitchen in white and blue and the dining room in yellow.

What I found remarkable about the house is that they kept the original furnishings and decorations. These types of places are usually modern reconstructions, but apparently this one is not. Lots of interesting things to see there, including dozens of Japanese prints -- Monet was a collector.

One of the most beautiful places in the world

I took a train and rented a bike near the station. This allowed me a good 15 minutes of relative solitude before the big crowd from the train showed up. And biking briefly through that area is pretty surreal.

There’s now a long-distance bike route through Giverny, following the Seine. I rode it in October and found it (mostly) enjoyable. https://cycle.travel/route/river_seine

did You do the whole thing from Paris to Le Havre? I tried it in 2020 and it seemed somewhat unfinished at places. Mostly in between villages / cities between about Rouen and Le Havre it lead me to normal roads to merge with the traffic. Not really a problem for me, but certainly wouldn't recommend that to a beginner / someone who isn't used to French road traffic etiquette.

They've been incrementally improving it over time. There are certainly still a few bits on roads where the traffic's higher than one might ideally like - the section around Pressagny-l'Orgueilleux is perhaps the most notorious (the villagers are _not_ happy about having a cycle route through their village!).

I don't live that far from Giverny. I went here once, with my mother, and it happened to be garden replanting day. Everyone was shocked. There were busloads of tourists from far away. We all just stood there looking at patches of soil. Luckily there are other thing. The ponds, the house, etc.

We were looking for a quaint excursion outside Paris and someone suggested Monet’s garden in Giverny. The bus loads of tourists put a damper on what was otherwise a really beautiful garden.

It was so crowded that I don’t remember having even a sliver of solitude in the garden or the house.

Been there in the morning after sleeping a night in a nearby B&B, which was both nice. But then busload after busload of tour tourist started pouring in, crowding the place with people trying to get an undisturbed selphie and clogging all paths. But a very nice experience when not so full.

That is a great recommondation: sleep nearby and go there as soon as it opens. One can also stay late. And the light is more beautiful in the morning and evening anyway.

I love Giverny, go every year. It's only one hour from Paris, and I think it's underrated by visitors, it's such an immersive artsy experience, highly recommended!

Not sure how do You define "underrated". IMO the thole place is on track to become another Versailles...