Having the biggest palace and the most important king in the world in your city certainly helps to build a beautiful city. Well that’s Versailles for sure. It’s a combination of grand, royally planted avenues and a charming city center. Versailles is thus a very elegant city. The influence of the palace can be felt everywhere in the architecture of the town. Over time, the inhabitants have also become quite elegant. If shopping is your thing, get ready because you will find the best brands that French designers can offer. But, as Versailles is outside of Paris, the shops are not chains. They are locally owned and operated, which helps keep the caring feeling most people prefer.
On the cultural aspect, Versailles is quite an important city for artistic production, in music especially. I’m sure you’ve heard of Daft Punk, and maybe also about bands such as Air or Phoenix. They are the best example of the now famous “French Touch” pop and electro music.
Lunch at the restaurant
Continue to Giverny, where you will have a guided tour of Giverny Monet House and its gardens (tickets included).
Discover the calm and almost otherworldly beauty of Claude Monet’s Home and Gardens. Learn about the famous Impressionist and enjoy exploring inside his colorful home, strolling along the charming paths of his flower garden, and admiring the water garden with the little green bridge and lake full of his famous water lilies.
The House and Gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny – Uncover the secrets of one of the pillars of Impressionism, Claude Monet. Leader of the pictorial movement of the 19th century, he brought a wind of change to academic representative art, introducing heightened perception, emotions and light. The painter devoted more than forty years of his life to one of his finest masterpieces: his garden in Giverny.
The Clos Normand: -The artist and gardener sought to transform a simple orchard into a magnificent, colorful garden: Japanese cherry trees, flowerbeds of nasturtiums, tulips and roses, an explosion of colors for each season.
The Water Garden – Wander through the romantic water garden, with its famous Japanese bridge, the wisterias, the water-lilies pond, the weeping willows and irises… Behold this living picture with its profusion of reflected light and colors.
The House – Visit the master’s charming pink house where a family atmosphere reigned. Discover the painter’s everyday life surrounded by eight children: the drawing room, the pantry, the bedroom, the study, the dining room and the beautiful kitchen… Admire his collection of Japanese prints, another source of inspiration.
The Studio – End your visit with the big studio where the famous water-lilies paintings saw the light of day. These paintings are exhibited at the Orangerie Museum in Paris.
Accommodation: Hotel Andre Latin (Breakfast, Lunch)
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