artsnletters

I'd like to see Giverny during my stay in Paris, April 28-May 11. I particularly enjoy photography when I'm traveling and would like to get some great shots without a gazillion people in them. Is there a day of the week or time of day when it's likely to be less busy? (Obviously <u>not</u> the three-day weekend that includes May 1!) I'm thinking maybe the latter half of the afternoon on a weekday? And how long should one plan to be on the site, assuming a leisurely pace and lots of photos?

Andrew

Get there first thing in the morning, and buy your ticket online in advance, so you can skip the regular line and enter through the group entrance. When I went in May, 2013, it was raining in Paris in the morning when I woke up so I decided to skip Giverny and went back to sleep. I took a later train to Rouen but when I saw the weather clearing by the time our train got to Vernon (near Giverny), I just got off there. By then it was nearly noon and there was a long line. The place was pretty mobbed by the time I got in there. I spent a few hours taking pictures - it took longer because of people in my shots, though.

If you take a chance and buy your ticket in advance and get up there first thing, that's probably your best shot at minimal crowds. But there will likely be plenty of tourists any day of the week if the weather is decent. If you take the train up to Vernon, note that it is a very long walk (an hour?) to Giverny unless you take one of the tourist shuttle buses. I took one of those, and it was quite a wait to get on the bus and get over there. If you wanted to splurge for a taxi from Vernon right when you got off the train, you could probably save 20 minutes and beat some of the crowds.

Carlux

Go early, take a taxi, have your ticket already bought. There will be lots of people as soon as the first tourist shuttles start to arrive.

jan47ete

Check fodors.com forums and plug in Giverny to see what others (myself included) have to say).

If you want to go early, yes go and follow suggestions above. AND don't walk or run but FLY like a madman toward the garden. We were there early dawdled at the house and by the time we got to the garden it appeared to be thousands of people there (OK a major exaggeration).

EVERYONE wants a photo of and on the bridge and we all took turns so it appeared we were the only ones on the bridge but all that takes time.

wanderful

I found that trying to take pictures of the gardens and the lily pond at Giverny without having a human presence in the resulting photos actually turned out to be an amusing challenge. I've been there twice, the first time on a brilliantly sunny day, the second when the sun would intermittently break through the clouds. Both times it was crowded, and I gave up any illusion that I was going to have Monet's inspirational sanctuary all to myself. (No doubt other people were looking at me and viewing me as part of the intrusive crowd, as they should) Sometimes I seemingly was alone for a moment and I could even take shots with nary a person in sight. Sometimes I snapped a photo just as someone's leg, or arm or head ducked into view. I think you have to condition yourself to expect crowds at Giverny, including squadrons of bored children on field trips. I'd go back again: I never did get a clean shot of the Japanese bridge; every time I got ready to shot, someone or some group came aboard and hung out. Maybe that's an incentive to return.

DebitNM

We went the last week it was open in October 2012. It was a bit overcast. There couldn't have been more that 2 dozen people there. Yes, the gardens weren't as glorious as during spring and summer but there were still lots of flowers.

I got many, many shots of the bridge with absolutely no one on them.

I know this doesn't help OP but for anyone who wants those shots, I highly recommend this time of year.

And my other 2 cents - don't rent/ride the bikes from train to Giverny. Long and if you aren't used to it [ahem] it was not fun.

mamcalice

We have been three times, twice in late May and once in September. Each time we went farily early in the day. I have great photos of the gardens from all 3 trips and none of them have people in the background. Obviously it is easier if you are taking close shots than if you are taking panoramic shots.

The only time we waited for a while in line was last September but we enjoyed our wait and we talked with a number of lovely people from all over the globe. Our wait was perhaps 25 minutes and the day was spectacular. You can't beat the gardens in spring so you have a great time for a visit. If you can get your tickets ahead of time, that seems like a good idea. Enjoy!

Christina

I went in July and it was crowded but it didn't ruin it for me. I had a short wait, I believe. I was there in the morning but maybe not right when it opened, but that is partly a function of train schedules. When I went, there were only a couple options in the morning.

most places are busiest in the afternoon, all tourist spots and museums. People just are out in full force in the afternoon and take a while to get going in the morning, I guess. And weekdays are always better.

I did take the bus to Vernon, but a cab would be better if you are concerned about time. The bus wasn't free, it was quite expensive, as I recall, and when I went, the schedule wasn't coordinated very well with the train arrival times.

Ackislander

I have not ever found it a bad idea to be among the first at any tourist site.

If this really matters to you, you might want to spend the previous night in or near Giverny.

Andrew

If you are a serious photographer (like I am) and take a tripod with you to Giverny, here's one way to deal with the people in your shots: take multiple exposures on the tripod around the same time (assuming the light is constant i.e. the clouds not rolling over the sun, changing the light). Then, later, if you find that "perfect shot" ruined only by someone in your frame, you can find another shot where the person is in a different position...and cut-and-paste pieces from one to the other image to make one without people. Because your two shots should otherwise be identical, everything should "match up" when you copy and paste. I have done this a few times. It's not really that hard in any simply image editor.

cfc

Andrew and artsnletters -- we tripped over an important consideration at Giverny -- poor weather (within reason) is your friend, both as tourist and photographer.

You can't always fit plans to weather reports, esp. far in advance, but we were there with a light drizzle that gave way to light mist before it quit, and there was pale overcast, not seriously dark. It not only kept the crowds down, it is spectacular light for photography -- the colors just GLOW! And first-thing-in-the-morning (opening...) is not only good for beating the crowds, it's also when it's more likely to have some lingering weather from the night before. And of course, if there are a few fingers of wan sunlight that poke through, more great photos.

We spent the time from opening to early-mid afternoon - had lunch at a cafe there, not memorable except for just being there. The tour of the house is interesting but I was antsy to go back outside.

Re: late afternoon: At that time of year, you're <2 months from the solstice and the sun will still be up pretty far at 4 pm, which can cast darker shadows, creating higher contrast that may distract from the subjects of your photos. If it were at a time of year when the sun is at a low angle at 4 pm, that can be lovely, but that's probably not the end of April.

You also want to watch train schedules that thin out through rush hour.

But sun or mist, morning or evening, I envy you.

artsnletters

Thanks for your input, everyone. I will plan on first thing in the morning and taking a taxi.

(I'm not a serious photographer, but I take "very good vacation photos," so I like to get a good set-up with, ideally, no distractions in the frame.)