The '99 version of Frommers France states "reservations imperative" for visiting Claude Monet Foundation. I have not read about this anywhere else including ever crowd conscious Rick Steves' guide. Can someone shed light on what this means? What might happen if I go there without a reservation?

When I was in Paris in October 1997, I went to Monets home and gardens. I didn't make any reservations. Just took the train to Vernon and then a taxi. Maybe "reservations imperative" are for certain times of the year. When I went in October it was lovely and not crowded at all. I too have the Frommer's '99 book and also have not read anywhere else that one has to have reservations. Let's hope that others post as I too plan to return in May.

Not sure what you mean by the Claude Monet "Foundation". But, there's a website http://giverny.org/index.htm with everything you could possibly want to know about visiting his home and gardens.

We went to Giverny in late August 97, sans reservations. We used the web site mentioned above to plan the trip and had no problems. It is quite lovely . There is a story however. It turned out to be the day Diana died. We didn't find out about it until the train coming back when we met an couple from Cleveland who told us about it.

I've been there more recently (last year) and made no reservation. I can't comprehend what Frommers means by that, it is so peculiar. I am sure they are busy enough without taking reservations for every single tourist who wants to see it (BTW, the name of the house/grounds is officially "the Claude Monet Foundation"). Maybe it was referring to something special--like a group probably needs reservations and I know they have special days for artists to come who need reservations (it's on the day they're closed, I think). So, if you want to paint/sketch, you'd need a reservation, I think. Or, (just a thought) if the context of Frommers sentence is regarding organized tours some companies run (e.g.,m Paris Vision), you probably need reservations as they're very popular. <BR>

Hi, Greg. My parents and I went to Giverny last October 1998. At first, we were planning to go there by ourselves; take the train to Vernon and a bus to Giverny. (as suggested in travel guides) <BR> <BR>Luckily, we found some brochures of Paris Vision at the hotel concierge offering a tour to Giverny. I forgot how much it cost but the bus went to fetch us in the afternoon at our hotel. There was a lady who served as our guide while in the bus and when we reached Giverny, she left us to explore Monet's garden and house on our own. We were to meet her at a certain time and back to Paris we went; we were brought back directly to our hotel. <BR> <BR>Convenience wise, I suggest you just join this tour. At least, you will not have to worry about catching the train to Vernon and the bus to Giverny and vise versa. <BR> <BR>When we were there, it was raining so we were really glad that we joined this tour instead of going on our own. Otherwise, the walk from Monet's garden to the bus stop is quite long and we did not bring an umbrella with us. <BR> <BR>Lastly, you do not need to make any reservations if you want to go there on your own. Tickets are available by the entrance. If you opt to join a tour, of course you will need to make a booking through the hotel concierge. Bon Voyage!