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Giverny: Should we stay over near there or stop on our way to Normandy

Giverny: Should we stay over near there or stop on our way to Normandy

Old Apr 8th, 2015, 06:16 AM
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Giverny: Should we stay over near there or stop on our way to Normandy

My husband and I will be spending some time in Paris and then heading to Normandy for a few days. We will have a rental car upon leaving Paris. I thought we could stop at Giverny on the way to Normandy and visit it and then be on our way. A friend who is a travel agent says that we should not visit Giverny with luggage in the car but should leave Paris late in the afternoon, stay over near Giverny and then visit the gardens the next morning and then head to Normandy.

Any thoughts on what would be better?
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 06:48 AM
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Hmm.. did your travel agent give you that advice because of crime or something? What's the basis for her(his) concern? Several years ago we visited Giverny on our way from Paris to Normandy. It would have never occurred to me to make the effort to stay overnight.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 07:27 AM
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Well, your travel agent has a good point. There's always a risk to leaving things in a car. Whether you decide to follow your t/a's advice or stop at Giverny on your way to Normandy will depend on how lucky you feel.

That said, we stopped at Giverny with our luggage stowed in the trunk of our rental car. We backed into the parking spot as far back as we could. We spent a few hours going through the gardens & house (don't miss seeing Monet's collection of Japanese wood block prints)and had a quick lunch before continuing on to Honfleur. All without an incident.

BTW - I carried my jewelry with me in my cross body purse. That way, if the car had been broken into, there was nothing precious that couldn't be replaced.

That was our experience.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 08:10 AM
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We spend 2 months vacationing in France every year, and we back up the car against a wall, light post, rock - just like 2010 does.

We visited Giverny for 1 hr max - but we're not Monet fans.

Stu Dudley
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 08:22 AM
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I think the advice is that it just isn't prudent to leave a lot in your car parking near tourist sites.

I don't think Giverny is the most dangerous spot for that though so I think I'd prefer just to visit on the way instead of wasting a whole day at that and staying overnight there (plus checking in/out of another place). I'd just try to find a secure spot for the car, as Stu suggests, and obviously, don't have things visible in the car. I only spent a few hours there, you can only spend so much time looking at a garden. I enjoyed the house, but that doesn't take that long. It isn't an art museum with a lot of pictures or anything like that.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 08:29 AM
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Stop off, visit Giverny.
Leave your luggage in the truck.

Take some pictures.

Spent about 2-3 hours maximum including a light lunch and be on your away
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 09:35 AM
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Thank you all so much for the very helpful (and very prompt) responses. I can always count on the people on Fodors for help.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 10:26 AM
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Are you picking up the car that morning? What is your final destination in Normandy?

Before you decide, I would consider the logistics of the day and how much time you think you'll want to spend seeing the gardens and house.

We picked up the car in the morning, drove to Giverny and spent a few hours, then drove to Jumieges to see the abbey ruins and ended the day in Rouen where we spent the night.

I don't remember which parking lot we used for Monet's garden/house, but I seem to recall people coming and going somewhat continuously and I didn't feel there was much chance of a problem. But perhaps your travel agent has heard recent stories about car break-ins at that location....?
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 10:38 AM
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The is no reason to spend a night in or near Giverny unless your goal is to discover how boring and restricted a small French town can be at night.

My own policy when I have had to leave my things in the trunk of the car for a stop of a few hours is to park in the most visible and busy spot that I can find. Frankly though, in major tourist areas with large parking lots, there is very little risk due to all of the people coming and going. Most thefts occur in secluded areas or at night in hotel lots when people have been foolish enough to leave something in the car.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 10:51 AM
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If you will never leave anything in your car then you can never stop between point A and point B on your day's itineraries - can't stop for a few-hour stroll around some city - now while that advice may be valid for Paris I have parked my car with luggage in it - in the trunk always, not in full view - umpteen times and never had a problem.

I would not do it in some parts of Paris - but your travel agent gave you very very poor advice indicating he/she knows little of France itself. I would ignore anything else said by that source.

Giverny outside of Monet's House is a lovely lovely old village - jsut can't imagine any kind of car theft like that happening - I would like to know why she said that about Giverny/ Giverny also has only a few hotels and B&Bs - there is little to do at night and nearly no stores or anything.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 02:26 PM
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Thank you all so much. It seems that this is a general policy she adheres to. I agree that often you have to stop somewhere on the way to somewhere else with luggage in the car. We have done that on all of our trips except for Sicily. We would be heading from Paris to Bayeux with the stop at Giverny. My husband is an avid photographer so that could add on to the amount of time we spend at Giverny. Thank you so very, very much for all your insights and thoughts.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 02:57 PM
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We visit Giverny as often as we can. I am an avid gardener so my visits there tend to linger perhaps longer than others. I can sit and read a book in the upper garden or make the tour of the pond last an hour or more and be quite content. The house is interesting and I am also a Monet fan but the garden is the reason for the visit. I've been there a dozen times and because it is a seasonal garden it is always different

You can not picnic on the grounds so plan on having lunch in the car park which is not bad either but lunch outside at the Hotel Baudy is great fun if it's a beautiful day. We took our daughter there for her birthday and it was a special memory. The next year we ate indoors and it was just so so.

The former American Museum (Museum of Impressionism) is also just steps from Monet's house and it can hosts fabulous exhibitions from time to time. I don't think it is supported by the Terra foundation any longer but it's worth checking out in case there's an interesting show.

The restoration of the Monet's house and gardens, the Hotel Baudy, the Museum of Impressionism, add it all up and you can easily spend five or more hours there.
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Old Apr 8th, 2015, 04:03 PM
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Inside the house are many wonderful Japanese prints.
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Old Apr 9th, 2015, 06:02 PM
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate you all sharing so much information with me. It will really help me plan.
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