53309PNO
Paris, Gvenry, Caen Memorial, St Malo, Dinard
Routes
Opening days/times, entrance fees, etc. listed on Yellow Pages.
- Excursion includes:
Giverny visit of Monet’s house and garden
Caen visit of La Mémorial (Peace) museum
- This is a very long day, you don’t have any time to spare!
- Check your voucher for the time of your reservation at Giverny
- In early season, when Giverny is closed, a visit to the Musée d’ Orsay will be substituted
- You must call the Memorial museum a few days ahead to make a reservation.
- You pay for entrances at Giverny. Entrances at the Caen Mémorial are paid by voucher.
- If you decide to have lunch at the Memorial museum, be aware that the café is limited. There are tents beyond the bus park with tables/chairs to accommodate groups with picnics
Giverny – visit of Monet’s house and garden
Set down in the bus park on the right as you enter the village (before you come to Monet’s house). Take the underpass. On the other side of the underpass are some toilets if needs dictate. Turn right and lead the group 150m along the pavement to the group entrance which will be on your left.
Giverny Bus Parking:
At the group entrance buy and distribute tickets. Tell the group they need their ticket to enter the house. They do not have to stay together and you are not allowed to do any guiding.
Be sure that they understand that they will be exiting the complex through the gift shop not through the group entrance. Arrange to meet the group at the GIFT SHOP. This is at the top of the garden next to the House and Toilets.
The group should visit the water garden first (go under the tunnel by the entrance), then return to the main gardens to visit the Clos Normand, Monet’s house (which can get very crowded and only small numbers are allowed in at a time) and finally the gift shop. They need to show their tickets. No photos inside.
Warn groups to leave enough time for the gift shop. It is very popular and service can be incredibly slow. Once they have exited through the gift shop they will not be allowed back in.
Toilets are located between the house and the gift shop on the left.
You can take photos in the gardens and from the windows in the house out over the gardens. Photos of the inside of the house are forbidden.
On exiting at the gift shop exit down to the far left they can buy drinks/sandwiches to take away. There is also a tea shop (“Les Nymphéas”) that is quite expensive but does good cakes! Toilets (small charge) are located beside the tea shop. There is also a popular gift shop with seeds for sale and decorative arty gifts. And on the other side, that is on the right after you exit the gardens, a Crêperie/Brasserie/Restaurant 3 minutes walk away, which has
a big terrace and a garden, you enter through a house.
It is now possible to pre-order a picnic lunch from the Café Les Nymphéas,
minimum 20 pax.
It includes:
– Sandwich Parisien (pain, beurre, jambon blanc, gruyère, salade)
– an apple/other fruit
– a packet of crisps
– water or juice
Call in advance with choices etc. 02 32 21 20 31
Meet your group at the exit and walk them past/after the tea shop Les Nympheas back to the bus via the first lane which runs down to the left
Monet is buried in Giverny. If they ask, the graveyard is a good 10 minutes’ walk from the exit to the complex (on exiting turn left and keep going straight until you reach the church). This really is worth it if the group is keen – the village is stunning and quaint with some art shops along the way. It all depends on the day, weather, and how much time you budgeted. Fit adults especially like this.
Caen Memorial Museum – visit
The Caen Memorial is located on the Caen ring road (N13). Set down in the bus park beyond the museum and make a rendezvous for departure. Lead the group into the museum (toilets to the left of bookshop) and swap voucher for tickets at the cashier desk after registering at the desk as you enter on the right. You will have a timed visit booked by the Paris office. Double check that the voucher is correct and amend numbers if necessary.
Caen Memorial Bus Parking:
You will be given a time for the cinema presentation across the main entrance hallway (highly impressive) and they will issue stickers for the group participants (everyone must enter the cinema presentation together). The entrance to the cinema is to your right across the reception area on entering the museum. Please note that group exit from a different door so worth telling them this. Try to do film last so that group is ready all to leave together.
Although you need a reservation, the visit is not guided. You should allow AT LEAST 1hr30/2hr in the Museum, which is divided into three sections:
An exhibition charting the breakdown of peace between 1918 and 1944 (beyond the ticket desk to your left – visit if you have to wait for the cinema presentation)
There are two cinemas/two films. Paris Office will have probably booked both with the idea you choose one. Most appropriate is the ‘1944: Sauver l’Europe’ film (the old one!), otherwise there is the new ‘L’Europe; Notre Histoire’ production. Check with GL, which they prefer.
A gallery of Nobel Peace Prize winners (straight on beyond the ticket desk
and café)
If time is short, be sure that the group at least sees the cinema Battle for Normandy presentation or finishes the museum after the timed film. The movie lasts 15 minutes and is silent. It is an excellent split-screen presentation of the Normandy landings from both Allied and German perspectives. On exiting the cinema, the landings and allies´ advance are documented on huge maps. There is also a section of the museum dedicated to the Cold War and the passageway from the timed film leads this way. You will not normally have time for the gallery of Nobel Peace Prizewinners. Students identify well with a lot of the exhibits and explanations.
There is a snack bar on the first floor and a lounge.