Holiday details - Monet's Garden by Eurostar
Your holiday summary
FranceCountry
TrainTravel type
From £599Price range
BrightwaterSupplier
3 nightsDuration
Just across the
channel in northern France are to be found some of the most beautiful
gardens in all of Europe, with those at Giverny continuing to give as
much pleasure and inspiration today as they did to their creator,
Claude Monet.
The lovingly restored gardens give a vivid impression of
Monet's favourite subjects. The gardens are filled with poppies,
lupins, delphiniums and peonies, and throughout the year the atmosphere
is of abundant colour and luxuriant growth. Arched bridges, painted an
acid apple green, are festooned with wisteria and the draped fronds of
weeping willow frame the water lilies - Monet's paintings brought
unnervingly to life.
- 3 night's dinner with wine, bed and breakfast at the Chateau de Montvillargenne. All rooms have private bathroom
- Return standard class rail travel from London St Pancras
International to Paris. (The option to join at Ebbsfleet International
or Ashford International is possible - please contact our office for
more details. First Class upgrades and regional connections also
available on request).
- Comfortable coaching in France
- Guided tour of Paris
- Visits to the Orangerie Museum, Monet's Garden, the Chateau de Chantilly, Royaumont Abbey and Senlis
- Services of a Brightwater Holidays Tour Manager
Day 1
Friday
We depart from London St Pancras International on the morning
Eurostar service through the Channel Tunnel to Paris Gare du Nord. (The
option to join at Ebbsfleet International or Ashford International is
possible, please contact our office for more details. First Class
upgrades and regional connections also available on request).
On
arrival we will be met by our comfortable local coach and travel to the
charming town of Chantilly, situated in the heart of the Chantilly
Forest, nineteen miles north of Paris. Our hotel, the Chateau de
Montvillargenne, is approximately 3 miles from the town centre set in
its own wooded grounds on Avenue Francois Mathet. Please note the hotel
has a heated indoor swimming pool. In the evening once you have settled into your room join our party for a welcome glass of Kir in the bar before dinner.
Day 2
Saturday
Enjoy your buffet breakfast. This morning we transfer to nearby
Senlis, a pleasant market town typical of Picardy, where we will have
some free time to wander round the shops or perhaps enjoy some
patisserie.
Following an opportunity for lunch in Senlis (not included) we will
visit the Chateau de Chantilly, a magnificent structure which stands on
a rock surrounded by water, for a guided tour which includes the
sumptuously decorated Grands Appartements, dating from the 17th-19th
centuries and the Galeries de Peintures, whose collection of pre-1850
paintings is second only to the Louvre.
We will return to Chantilly in time for dinner.
Day 3
Sunday
This morning, following breakfast, we depart for Giverny and the
world famous house and gardens of Claude Monet. Our early start today
will ensure an early arrival at Giverny - a time when the gardens are
at their most tranquil. Both the house and gardens have been lovingly
and accurately restored - one would believe that the family have just
gone out to walk in the garden. You will have plenty of time to explore
this marvellous garden at your leisure. Light lunch facilities are
available near the garden (not included).
On our return to Chantilly we will break our journey at the
tranquil surroundings of Royaumont Abbey. Surrounded by streams and
lying near a bird sanctuary, the Abbey was built in a protected
environment developed by the monks. The remarkably well-preserved Abbey
still stands surrounded by wetlands and forests and its cloister and
refectory are among the most outstanding still extant today. The garden
is a landscape evocation of the medieval world, illustrating the
experimentation with the plant kingdom that was possible in the Middle
Ages, the way in which the gardener observed, tended, selected and
reproduced plants. Created by landscape architect Olivier Dame, the
garden is designed as a plant observation laboratory embellished with
ornamentation to enhance its appeal. Dinner will be served at the Chateau de Montvillargenne in the evening.
Day 4
Monday
Enjoy your buffet breakfast. Today we will travel into Paris where
we have arranged a short guided tour of the city. We will continue with
a visit to the Musee de l'Orangerie des Tuileries, which re-opened in
May 2006 after an extensive refurbishment programme. The highlight of
the museum's impressive collection is undoubtedly the series of 2-metre
high murals entitled Les Nympheas, a sequence of impressions such as
clouds, reflections and sunsets which Claude Monet installed between
1914 and 1918, when he was at the height of his extraordinary powers.
To stand before these unique paintings in peaceful meditation is a
moving and memorable experience. In addition to the Nymphas, the
Orangerie offers a fabulous collection of masterpieces from the Jean
Walter and Paul Guillaume Collection, a highly original insight into
modern art featuring Cezanne, Renoir, Picasso, Rousseau, Matisse,
Derain, Modigliani, Soutine, Utrillo and Laurencin.
Thereafter you will have free time to shop and sightsee at your
leisure. Paris is, of course, the most romantic city in the world with
wonderful art galleries, churches, and shops. Later, we return to the Gare du Nord for our Eurostar train back to London where we expect to arrive in the evening.
Your Hotel is set in 15
acres of parkland in the Forest of Chantilly, the Château de
Montvillargenne is a magnificent 19th century château hotel, a former
home of the Rothschild family. The bedrooms are beautifully decorated
and furnished in a variety of different styles. The hotel boasts a
heated indoor swimming pool, sauna, solarium, gym and tennis court.
Along with a welcome glass of kir on the first night a bottle of wine
per couple is included with dinner each evening.