France


Normandy


Giverny


Claude Monet’s House and Gardens





 

Summary Claude Monet’s House and Gardens in Giverny, form harmonious and immersive factors where art and nature combine. The pink house with green shutters is richly decorated internally with vibrant rooms such as the yellow dining room and blue sitting room, adorned with Japanese prints and Impressionist reproductions. Outside, the Clos Normand contains a collection of seasonal flowers artistically arranged, while the Water Garden - complete with Japanese bridge and water lilies - reflects Monet’s fascination with light and reflection. Together, the house and gardens reveal Monet’s artistic vision not just on canvas, but in every detail of his living environment.

Claude Monet’s house in Giverny is where he lived for 43 years, from 1883 until his death in 1926.  The house was originally a farmhouse, which he initially rented, but in 1890 he was to purchase it. 

Originally called the House of the Cider-Press, due to an apple press nearby, over time Monet was to expand the house, making it 40 meters long but only 5 meters wide.

 

He was to renovate it to make it into a vibrant home and his artistic sanctuary.  On either end, additional wings with broader windows were installed. These wings housed his studio, kitchen, and family quarters.

The house has three doors, one central entrance, and one for domestic use that opens into the kitchen. The other one leads to Monet’s private apartment.

Externally, one of the most striking changes that he made was to paint the walls pink and shutters green, a colour scheme chosen by Monet to harmonise with the surrounding gardens. The colour of the stutters was unusual at the time as shutters were traditionally painted grey.

He converted a barn next to the house into a studio, adding a wooden floor and stairs leading to the main house. Above the studio, Monet had his own apartment with a large bedroom and bathroom.

Over the walls are Virginia creeper vines blending the house into the garden just steps away. It’s a seamless transition from architecture to nature.

 

Apart from transforming the house he also transformed the garden in order to reflect his artistic vision, which was to serve as inspiration for his paintings. 

Monet designed two distinct gardens, the Clos Normand and the Water Garden.

The Clos Normand is the flower garden that stretches out in front of the house, bursting with seasonal blooms and metal archways covered in climbing plants.
 

When Monet arrived in 1883, the garden was a modest orchard with boxwood borders and spruce trees. He tore those out and replaced them with cherry and apricot trees from Japan, metal arches for climbing roses, and a riot of seasonal blooms. The garden is a kaleidoscope of flowers which includes tulips, irises, poppies, peonies, nasturtiums. The central path, lined with roses and overhung with arches, leading straight to the house like a floral red carpet.

Monet once said, “All my money goes into my garden.” He saw it not just as a retreat, but as a source of inspiration and many of his paintings depicted his garden as they changed with the seasons.

The Water Garden was inspired by Japanese aesthetics; it features the iconic green bridge and water lilies that became the subject of his famous Nymphéas series of paintings.

 

To do this, in 1893, he had the nearby Epte River partially diverted to create the garden, which became the subject of many of his water lily paintings.  He purchased land across the road from his house and diverted a stream called the Ru to create a pond. He designed the garden with asymmetrical curves, weeping willows, and exotic plants.

 

In the water garden are two small boats. When painting Monet often placed his boat near the Japanese bridge or nestled among the water lilies. This created a focal point in his paintings, drawing the eye into the scene.

The positioning of the boats in Monet’s Water Garden isn’t just practical, it’s tied to the visual composition and atmosphere that Monet cultivated both in life and on canvas.  From the boat, Monet could observe how light danced on water, how clouds shifted, and how colours blended in the pond’s mirrored surface. He often painted the reflections rather than the objects themselves.  The boat allowed him to change vantage points, capturing the garden from angles that would be impossible from shore.

 

Today, gardeners use the boats to clean the pond, remove algae, and tend to the lilies, just as Monet’s assistant did in his time. Their placement is also strategic for photography and ambiance, reinforcing the immersive feel of stepping into a living painting.

After Monet’s death in 1926, the garden fell into neglect as the estate was passed to his younger son, Michel Monet, who did not live there, but Monet’s stepdaughter, Blanche Hoschedé Monet, took care of the gardens until her death in 1947. The property then fell into neglect until 1966, when Michel Monet bequeathed it to the Académie des Beaux-Arts.  In 1977, work started on its restoration, under the supervision of Gérald Van der Kemp, a curator at the Palace of Versailles, who was to use original plant lists and photographs. Today, it’s maintained by the Fondation Claude Monet and open to the public from April to November.

It wasn’t just the gardens that needed restoring, as the house itself was in poor condition, with rotting floors, collapsed staircases, and shattered windows. Thanks to donations, including support from American philanthropist Walter Annenberg, the estate was restored and opened to the public in 1980.

Claude Monet’s full name was Oscar-Claude Monet but preferred to go by “Claude”.  He was born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France, but he grew up in Le Havre, a coastal town in Normandy. His early exposure to the sea and changing light deeply influenced his artistic style. As a teenager, he studied drawing and was mentored by Eugène Boudin, who introduced him to painting en plein air (outdoors), a technique that became central to Impressionism.

Monet moved to Paris in the 1860s, where he befriended artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Édouard Manet. He rejected traditional academic painting and instead focused on capturing light, movement, and atmosphere. His painting Impression, Sunrise (1872) gave the Impressionist movement its name and marked a turning point in art history. His home in Giverny became his greatest inspiration, which included his famous Water Lilies paintings of around 250 paintings of his water lily pond, where he explored light and reflection.

His Haystacks series, painted between 1890–1891, was a study of changing light and seasons, Monet painted stacks of harvested grain at different times of day. One of his subjects can be seen on the way to his house.

 

A series of paintings featuring the Japanese bridge in his Water Garden was painted between 1899-1924. This was painted showing it surrounded by wisteria and water lilies.

Another series that Monet was famous for was that of Rouen Cathedral which he painted at different times of day.

One painting that he is known for is that of “Woman with a Parasol”.  Painted outdoors with a sense of movement and light.  In 1875, it is a portrait of his wife Camille and son Jean.  

While the house contains reproductions of Monet’s works, especially in the first studio/smoking room, this particular piece isn’t typically among them. Although many of his works are reproduced throughout the house.

The main entrance of the house lead into the blue sitting room, this is adorned with Japanese woodblock prints and painted in soft blue colours, this was a cozy reading space. Monet collected over 200 prints, especially by Hokusai and Hiroshige.  It contains painted wooden chairs, a blue grandfather clock, and floral upholstery. The cement tile floor features intricate terracotta patterns that echo the garden’s earthy tones. This was a reading and family room, often used by Alice Hoschedé-Monet and the children. It is the first room visitors encounter, setting the tone for the vibrant interior.   With its soft light and curated decor, the blue sitting room feels like stepping into one of Monet’s paintings.

 

Located near and connecting directly to the sitting room, is the cool room/ Pantry, used to store food.  This also connected via a staircase to Monet’s bedroom. 

Adjacent to the pantry is his first studio, which later became known as the smoking room. Monet used this to store and finish canvases, especially during poor weather. As his career progressed he built a larger studio, and this space became a social room where he welcomed visitors. Today reproductions of his works hang on the walls.

 

The Kitchen is in blue and white and decorated with blue Rouen tiles and copper utensils arranged above the large coal and wood-burning stove, with multiple hobs and a pot-filler pipe which dominates the room.  

 

This was surprisingly modern for its time. It was used not just for the preparation of meals but also for keeping the kitchen warm.  The massive stove and blue-painted cabinets harmonise with the dining room.

 

The kitchen is a masterpiece in its own right, designed with the same attention to colour and harmony that defined his paintings. 

Painted in matching blue tones, the cabinets echo the tilework. A bisque farm sink sits beneath a single tap. 

 

The kitchen connects directly to the dining room

The Dining Room is painted in a vibrant yellow with all the furniture, including buffets, chairs, and dressers also painted yellow, creating a warm, cheerful ambiance. 

 

The walls are adorned with Japanese woodblock prints by masters like Hokusai, Hiroshige, and Utamaro. Monet collected over 200 of these, reflecting his deep admiration for Japanese art.

The cabinets display blue-and-white porcelain and other decorative items around the room, which enhances its visual harmony.

 

The dining table could seat up to 14 guests, often including fellow artists like Renoir, Cézanne, and Morisot.  This was set off with silver cutlery with ivory handles, embroidered white linen tablecloths, and delicate crystal glassware.

The main staircase is located near the pantry, which is just off the blue sitting room on the ground floor. It’s a steep wooden staircase that leads directly to the upper floor, where Monet’s bedroom, Alice’s bedroom, and Blanche Hoschedé-Monet’s room are located.

Monet’s Bedroom was reconstructed in 2013 using original photographs and furnishings, it features 18th-century furniture and paintings by such people as Renoir, Cézanne, Signac, and others. 

 

The Three Large Windows overlook the Clos Normand Garden, flooding the room with natural light and offering Monet a daily view of the flowers that inspired his work.

 

Around the walls are works by his Impressionist friends, including Cézanne, Renoir, Signac, Caillebotte, Pissarro, Sisley, Morisot, Boudin and Manet.

The room includes a delicately adorned desk, a commode, and a simple single bed, the one in fact in which Monet died in  on December 5, 1926. He was buried in a simple white marble tomb in the Monet family plot, in the churchyard of Église Sainte-Radegonde in Giverny, a short walk from his house. 

 

Alice’s Bedroom looks out over the street and is modestly decorated. It features Japanese woodblock prints, especially those depicting female figures, which she and Monet both admired. 

 

A small adjoining room was used for sewing and domestic tasks. It contains a sewing machine and vintage furnishings.

Alice Hoschedé-Monet (1844–1911) was Claude Monet’s second wife and a pivotal figure in his personal and artistic life. Following the death of Monet’s first wife Camille in 1879, Alice and Claude began living together. Though still married to her first husband, Alice was referred to as Monet’s “charming wife” as early as 1880. After her husband died in 1891, she and Monet officially married in 1892.

Blanche Hoschedé-Monet’s Bedroom was added to the public tour in 2014. It is decorated with Japanese prints and damask-lined walls with floral motifs. It includes a small adjoining sewing room.  Blanche incidentally was both Claude Monet’s stepdaughter and daughter-in-law

There’s also a secondary staircase near the kitchen, used for domestic access. This one leads to the rooms above the kitchen, where Monet’s stepdaughters slept.

To the side of the house is the Gift Shop, this was built in 1899 and was originally Monet’s studio. It was designed specifically to accommodate his monumental Water Lilies canvases.  Featuring a north-facing window and a glass-enclosed balcony, it was ideal for consistent natural light and perfect for large-scale painting. Monet used it to work on his late masterpieces, especially the immersive Nymphéas series, which he painted directly on enormous canvases. The studio symbolized Monet’s shift toward abstraction and his deepening focus on colour, reflection, and atmosphere.