One of our 50 best things to do this summer. Click here for the full list.
It's no secret that painter Claude Monet was a gardener extraordinaire: The luxurious gardens surrounding the artist's pink house in Giverny (where he lived for 40 years) are an ode to the painter's green fingers, with lines of rose bushes, willow trees hanging over Japanese bridges, and lily pads floating on the ponds as if waiting for the father of Impressionism to return home. Of the hundreds of tourists who visit the Fondatation Claude Monet every day, not all are art lovers. In fact none of his original paintings are on display in the house; although you will find over 200 engravings collected by Monet, 46 of which are by 18th-century Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro. Be prepared to queue; this is a pilgrimage site for many tourists.