Giverny, Monet's garden an hour from Paris by train.

How do you get there from Paris?

By train from Saint-Lazare station to Vernon-Giverny: 45 minutes to an hour, with departures throughout the day. Vernon is on the other side of the Seine, and from the station there are three ways to reach the village: the shuttle, which costs €5 one way and €10 return; the bike, which you hire twenty metres from the exit and which goes along a greenway without cars; or on foot along the same greenway, if you don't mind a long walk. Because of works on the line, check the day's timetables before buying your ticket.

By car it is a good hour on the A13, exit Vernon-Giverny. The village car parks are free, but in May and June they fill up by mid-morning.

If you fly from Spain, you land at Orly or Charles de Gaulle, reach the centre of Paris and leave from Saint-Lazare. Giverny works very well as a day trip from Paris, and also as the first stop of a road trip through Normandy, on the way to Étretat or Mont-Saint-Michel.

When is it open?

Monet's house and gardens open from 1 April to 1 November, every day from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30. The rest of the year they are closed, and the whole village pulls down its shutters: the Museum of Impressionisms closes too and most restaurants, such as the Baudy, open only from April to October. Out of season, Giverny makes no sense as a day trip.

Each month has its own garden. In April, the tulips; in May and June, the wisteria on the Japanese bridge, the irises and the roses, the most photographed moment; in July and August, the water lilies in the pond, with more heat and more people; in September and October, dahlias and autumn colours, with fewer groups.

How much does it cost and how do you book?

Admission costs €13 for adults and €7 for ages 7 to 17 and students; under-7s don't pay. Buy online: when the website quota runs out, the ticket office has long queues, and online tickets are not refundable. Inside you may not picnic, paint or draw, dogs may not enter (except assistance dogs) and there is no left-luggage for large items.

The Museum of Impressionisms, five minutes' walk away, has its own ticket, €12, and puts on temporary exhibitions. In 2027 it reopens on 26 March with Bonnard and Vuillard.

How much time do you need?

Half a day for the house and gardens, unhurried; a whole day if you add the museum, lunch and a walk along rue Claude Monet to the painter's grave. The village is almost a single street of less than a kilometre. If you arrive by bike from Vernon, add the Old Mill over the Seine, which is on the way.

What changes the visit is the time. Between 11:00 and 15:00 the groups from Paris arrive and the Japanese bridge turns into a queue. If you can, go in at 10:00 or from 15:30. To be there first thing without getting up early, sleep in the village.

Where to eat and sleep?

Since eating inside the gardens isn't allowed, the terrace of the Restaurant Baudy, the former hotel of the American painters, is the natural stop; there is no booking at midday, so arrive before 12:30. For a special meal, Le Jardin des Plumes, with a Michelin star, and Révélations, the restaurant at La Musardière, which also opens on winter weekends.

To sleep, La Musardière, a three-star with private parking five minutes from Monet's house, and Le Jardin des Plumes, a 1913 villa with four rooms and four suites.