Monet's House and Gardens, Giverny

The house where Claude Monet lived for 43 years, and the gardens he created and painted again and again: a flower garden bursting with colour, and across the lane, the water garden with its Japanese bridge, weeping willows and the water lilies of his most famous paintings. The pink house keeps his colourful dining room and his collection of Japanese prints.

It's open from about April to October; the gardens are at their best in May and June. Book a ticket online and go early. Trains run from Paris Saint-Lazare to Vernon, then a shuttle bus or a bike ride to Giverny.