Giverny & Versailles Day Trip from Paris with Lunch

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/9

Duration9h

GroupUp to 16

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Two palaces, one unforgettable day outside Paris

You're picked up from Paris and driven to Monet's house and gardens in Giverny, where you spend the morning walking the Japanese bridge and lily ponds. Lunch with drinks follows at an 18th-century mill restaurant. The afternoon is Versailles Palace with a guided tour of the royal apartments and Hall of Mirrors, plus garden time and (on weekends April–October) the Musical Fountain Show. A minibus carries groups of 16 or fewer, and you're back in Paris by evening.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Monet's home and Versailles Palace

Drive from Paris to Giverny
Visit Claude Monet’s house and gardens
See Japanese bridge and water-lily ponds
Have lunch at Moulin de Fourges
Drive to Versailles Palace
Tour Louis XIV’s suite and Hall of Mirrors
Explore Versailles gardens

The Experience

"Which bridge is it — the one with the water lilies or the one Monet painted?" The question came from someone on the minibus as we pulled out of Paris heading north toward Giverny, about 50 miles away. Nobody had a confident answer, which is exactly why we were going. The drive takes roughly an hour and a half in an air-conditioned minibus with a group of no more than 16 people, and it gives you time to settle in before you arrive at Claude Monet's house — the pink-brick property where he lived for 43 years, from 1883 until his death in 1926. The gardens are what people come for: the Japanese bridge arching over water lilies, the flowered paths, the whole landscape that became the subject of his most famous paintings. You walk through it slowly, and even if you've seen the paintings a hundred times, standing in the actual place where he stood changes something.

After the morning in Giverny, we headed to lunch at the Moulin de Fourges, a 200-year-old mill on the banks of the Epte River. The building itself is listed — 18th-century architecture that takes its design cues from Marie-Antoinette's hamlet at Versailles — and lunch and drinks are included in the tour price. It's a real meal, not a rushed stop, which matters when you're halfway through a full day. Then the minibus takes you south to Versailles Palace, where a guide meets the group for the indoor portion: Louis XIV's suite, the Hall of Mirrors, the rooms that defined French power. The guide does the talking; you follow and listen, which keeps the pace steady and the information flowing. After the palace, you get free time in the "À la Française" gardens — the formal ones with the geometric paths and the groves.

If you're going on a weekend between April and October, the Musical Fountain Show is included, which means you'll see the fountains and water features choreographed to music. It's a specific bonus that only happens certain dates, so check the calendar before you book — there are also a few extra dates scattered through the year (May 8, 10, 22, 29; June 5, 12, 19, 26; and August 15). The whole day runs long, and the itinerary is tight, but that's what makes it possible to see both Giverny and Versailles without arranging your own transport or buying separate tickets.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel or meeting-point pickup in Paris, round-trip minibus transport to both Giverny and Versailles, entry to Monet's house and gardens, a guided tour inside Versailles Palace (Louis XIV's suite and Hall of Mirrors), lunch with drinks at the Moulin de Fourges restaurant, access to the Versailles gardens, and the Musical Fountain Show on weekends April–October. The tour is led in English and operates with small groups of 16 people maximum.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Paris TRIP

Is this one for you?Right for travelers based in Paris without a car who want to see both Giverny and Versailles in a single day. Expect a full schedule — you're out from morning until evening — which is what allows the tour to cover two major sites, handle all transport and entry, and include a proper lunch without you arranging any of it.