Just 45 mins by train west of Paris, at Giverny, are the house and gardens of Claude Monet, the founder of the Impressionists movement. 

Gifted to the nation in 1960 by his grandson, these gardens were designed and largely built by the great man himself over the 43 years that he lived here in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Claude Monet was a romantic and therefore the garden he created features wonderfully soft hues and lines. 

Plants have been selected for their graceful nature and the plantings have been quite artfully placed to enhance mood and make most of the local natural light. 

But Monsieur Monet's piece-de-resistance is the lake which he had built to create an extra waterscape - the very place where he painted the world famous waterlillies, amongst many others.

Today, Monet's garden is a shrine for romantics - it is not a place designed for the scientist or botanist, though the multitude of species on display is quite staggering. Visitors come here in their thousands every day, with coach parks specially created a short walk away to deal with the invasion of camera wielding pilgrims.

We highly recommend not coming on a coach trip but getting the early train from St Lazare to Vernon then a short bus ride from the station to Giverny. This ensures you'll get at least a half hour or so of peace in the gardens - which at this time of day are a pure delight, both in lack of noise but also in the exquisite nature of the light.

The garden staff here must be congratulated for their extraordinary dedication to duty, especially in the immaculate care they take of the large areas of borders, flower beds and flowering shrubs. Choices of colours are made with great care, always reflecting the palettes of the great master.

The area in front of the house is named 'The Formal Garden' though the softness of lines and colours creates a much more informal overall feel.

The lake on the other side of the local road was made to Monsieur Monet's instructions and is an absolute delight to walk around, observing first hand the angles that he painted, capturing the reflections, the bridges and plants that line the water.

Whether you are a fan of the Impressionists or not, Giverny will delight the heart and the eye.