Enjoy a 7-day Monet-inspired road trip in Normandy, France

Be prepared for a visual feast on this week-long trip around the eastern part of Normandy, the cradle of impressionism – the 19th-century art movement made famous by French painter Claude Monet.

You’ll start your journey in the village of Giverny, the location of the most celebrated garden in France. From here, you can follow in the footsteps of Monet and other impressionist megastars, taking in the dramatic Côte d’Albâtre, the UNESCO-listed port of Le Havre, Honfleur and Trouville-sur-Mer.

En route, you’ll pass through landscapes and cities that inspired Monet, the father of impressionism, and other French art greats. You'll see first-hand why so many painters were attracted to this place, stop to snap the extraordinary coastal vista from the clifftop in Étretat, and take time to tour museums and historic buildings in medieval Rouen. 

Any time from April to September is a good time to follow this itinerary, but for more nuanced light and to avoid the summer crowds, July and August are best avoided, if possible.

Here's how to experience Monet’s Normandy on a seven-day road trip. If time allows, history buffs can then make a beeline for the D-Day beaches along Normandy’s coast, while food lovers can sample cheese, cider, fresh seafood and crêpes in Brittany. 

Day 1: Explore Giverny

Vibe: Rural village on the tourist map
Do: Visit the home of Claude Monet
Eat: Haute cuisine at Michelin-starred Le Jardin des Plumes
Stay: Giverny is awash with gîtes to book

The tiny country village of Giverny is a place of pilgrimage for devotees of impressionism. Claude Monet lived here from 1883 until his death 43 years later in 1926. His rambling house, surrounded by flower-filled gardens, is now the immensely popular Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet. 

Monet's pastel-pink house and the studio where he painted his Water Lily canvases stand on the periphery of the Clos Normand, with its symmetrically laid-out gardens bursting with flowers. Monet bought the Jardin d’Eau (Water Garden) in 1895 and set about creating his trademark lily pond.

Also here is the famous Japanese bridge (since rebuilt) that featured in many of Monet's paintings. Draped with purple wisteria, the bridge blends into the asymmetrical foreground and background, creating the intimate atmosphere for which the “painter of light” was renowned.

The seasons have an enormous effect on Giverny. From early to late spring, daffodils, tulips, rhododendrons, wisteria and irises appear, followed by poppies and lilies. By June, nasturtiums, roses and sweet peas are in flower. Around September, you'll see dahlias, sunflowers and hollyhocks.

The drive: It’s an hour-long, 71 km (44 miles) drive to Rouen. Head to Vernon and follow signs to Rouen along the A13. A more scenic (but slower) route follows the D313 via Les Andelys, along the east bank of the Seine.

Day 2: Roam around historic Rouen

Vibe: Step back in time
Do: Explore the medieval city center
Eat: Modern French cuisine at La Rose des Vents on place de la Basse Vieille Tour
Stay: Bed down in a historic bakery turned B&B, La Boulangerie

With its elegant spires and atmospheric medieval quarter studded with narrow lanes and wonky half-timbered houses, it’s no wonder that Rouen has inspired numerous painters, including Monet. Some of his works, including one of his studies of the stunning Gothic Cathédrale Notre Dame, are displayed at the splendid Musée des Beaux-Arts.

Feeling inspired? Sign up for an art class with the tourist office and create your own Rouen Cathedral painting from the very room in which Monet painted his famous Rouen landscapes. If you’re at all interested in architectural glories, the 14th-century Abbatiale St-Ouen (St-Ouen Abbey) is a marvellous example of the Rayonnant Gothic style. 

There's also much Joan of Arc lore in Rouen; the French saint was executed here in 1431. For the story of her life, don't miss the spectacular audio-visual displays in the Historial Jeanne d'Arc.

The drive: Follow signs to Dieppe. Count on 45 minutes to cover the 64km (40 miles) trip via the A151 and N27.

Day 3: Take a deep breath in Dieppe

Vibe: Harbor town without the glitz
Do: Take in the sea air and famous views of Pourville
Eat: L'Huitrière Goubert Pourville is renowned for its fresh seafood
Stay: Check out the reasonably priced three-star waterfront Hotel de la Plage, Dieppe

Sandwiched between limestone cliffs, Dieppe is a small-scale fishing port with a pleasant seafront promenade. Still used by fishing vessels but dominated by pleasure craft, the port makes for a bracing sea-air stroll, and ferries run from the mouth of the harbor to Newhaven in the UK. 

Dieppe was one of France’s most important ports in the 16th and 17th centuries, when ships regularly sailed from here to West Africa and Brazil. Many of the earliest French settlers in Canada set sail from Dieppe. During WWII, the city was the focal point of the only large-scale Allied raid on Nazi-occupied France prior to D-Day – a catastrophic event commemorated in the town's Mémorial du 19 août 1942.

High above the city on the western cliff, the 15th-century Musée de Dieppe is the town’s most imposing landmark. There's an impressionist connection too – Monet immortalized Pourville, a seaside village on the western outskirts of Dieppe, in several works.

The drive: To reach the Côte d’Albâtre (Alabaster Coast), take the scenic coastal roads (D75 and D68), rather than the inland D925, via the resort towns of Pourville, Varengeville-sur-Mer, Quiberville, St-Aubin-sur-Mer, Sotteville-sur-Mer and Veules-les-Roses (35km/21 miles, 45 minutes).

Day 4: Tour the Côte d’Albâtre to Fécamp 

Vibe: Old world maritime vibes
Do: Get out past the lighthouse on a historic ship
Eat: Serving delicacies from the region, Le Daniel's
Stay: Le Grand Pavois overlooks boats bobbing in Bassin Bérigny

You’re now in the heart of the scenic Côte d’Albâtre (Alabaster Coast), which stretches from Dieppe southwest to Étretat. With its lofty, bone-white cliffs, this wedge of coast is a geological wonder-world that charmed a generation of impressionists, including Monet. 

Get a glimpse of sweet little St-Valery en Caux, with its delightful port, lovely stretch of stony beach and majestic cliffs, and you’ll see why. Next, take the coastal road (D79) via Veulettes-sur-Mer for an hour on a 36km (22-mile) drive.

Stop for a glass of Bénédictine at the Palais de la Bénédictine distillery. Opened in 1900, this unusually ornate factory is where all the Bénédictine liqueur in the world is made.

Rest in Fécamp, a lively fishing port with an attractive harbor, dramatic cliffs and a long monastic history. The Abbatiale de la Ste-Trinité was a sacred place of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages due to the drops of Jesus' blood said to be enshrined there.

Before you close out the day, don’t skip the walk up to Cap Fagnet, which offers gobsmacking views of the coastline.

The drive: Follow signs from Fécamp to Étretat (17km/10.5 miles) along the D940. You could also start on the D940 and turn off onto the more scenic D11 via Yport and Bénouville.

Day 5: Take to Étretat

Vibe: Picture-postcard views
Do: Take in the views from the white cliffs
Eat: Try O'4 Saisons, a cozy gourmet option with seasonal menus.
Stay: Enjoy the simple but eclectic, Sherlock Holmes-inspired Détective Hôtel.

Is Étretat the most enticing village in Normandy? This delightful settlement's dramatic coastal scenery – framed by twin cliffs – made it a favorite of painters such as Camille Corot, Eugène Boudin, Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet (who produced more than 80 canvases of the scenery here). 

With the vogue for taking the sea air at the end of the 19th century, fashionable Parisians came and built extravagant villas in Étretat. The village has never gone out of style, and every weekend it swells with visitors, who sit on the shingle beach, wander up and down the shoreline, and clamber up to the fantastic vantage points above the chalk cliffs.

The drive: Follow signs to Le Havre (28km/17 miles), along the D940 and the D147. Count on about half an hour for the journey.

Day 6: Hop from Le Havre to Honfleur

Vibe: Modernism contrasts with historic Normandy 
Do: Explore the town but leave plenty of time for food
Eat: Tuck into traditional brasserie fare at a Le Havre institution, La Taverne Paillette.
Stay: Ask for a room with a balcony at Hotel Vent d'Ouest or book a night in the Hotel Monet in Honfleur.

It was in Le Havre that Monet painted the defining impressionist view. His 1873 canvas of the harbor at dawn was entitled Impression: Sunrise. Monet wouldn’t recognize present-day Le Havre – all but obliterated in September 1944 by Allied bombing raids, the city center was totally redesigned after the war by Belgian architect Auguste Perret. 

Don't miss MuMa La Havre, which houses a truly fabulous collection of impressionist works, with canvases by Claude Monet, Eugène Boudin, Camille Corot and many more. Next, take in the Église St-Joseph, a modern church whose interior is a luminous work of art – thanks to 13,000 panels of colored glass on its walls and tower.

For a dose of Baroque ecclesiastical architecture, stop by Cathédrale Notre-Dame. And to get a contrast from the built-up environment of modern-day Le Havre, check out Jardins Suspendus (Hanging Gardens), an appealing hilltop garden with views over the city.

Now follow the A131 and A29 for 25km (15 miles), linking Le Havre to Honfleur. The town's heart is the highly picturesque Vieux Bassin (Old Harbor), from where explorers once set sail for the "New World." Marvel at the extraordinary 15th-century wooden Église Ste-Catherine, with a roof that resembles an upturned boat from the inside, then wander the warren of flower-filled cobbled streets lined with wooden and stone buildings.

Honfleur’s graceful beauty has inspired numerous painters, including Monet and Eugène Boudin, an early impressionist painter born here in 1824. Their works are displayed at the Musée Eugène Boudin. Honfleur was also the birthplace of composer Erik Satie; the fascinating Les Maisons Satie is packed with surrealist surprises, all set to his ethereal compositions.

The drive: From Honfleur, it’s a 14km (9-mile) trip to Trouville-sur-Mer along the D513 – allow about 20 minutes.

Day 7: Soak up Deauville and Trouville-sur-Mer

Vibe: Hedonistic seaside resort
Do: Promenade along the beach boardwalk
Eat: Sample the fresh seafood at the Marché aux Poissons (Fish Market)
Stay: Snag a sea-view room at Hôtel Flaubert

Finish your impressionist road trip in style by heading southwest to the twin seaside resorts of Deauville and Trouville-sur-Mer; they're separated by a river bridge, but each maintains a distinctly different personality. 

Exclusive, expensive and a little brash, Deauville is packed with designer boutiques, deluxe hotels and public gardens of almost impossible neatness. It is also known for its high-profile American Film Festival.

Trouville-sur-Mer, another veteran beach resort, is more down to earth. During the 19th century, the town was frequented by writers and painters, including Monet, who spent his honeymoon here in 1870. No doubt he was lured by the picturesque port, the mile-long sandy beach lined with opulent villas, and the laid-back seaside ambience.

How to continue the road trip

Beyond this impressionist-focused Normandy itinerary, your options for further touring are wonderfully varied. Visit the serene memorials, beaches and bluffs of coastal Normandy, which belie the struggle and sacrifices of World War II. Make for the wild, wave-wracked coasts, black Breton sheep and distinct culture of France's Celtic fringe in Brittany. Or loosen your waistband and saddle up for an easy meander through some of France's best-loved appellations. Bon appétit!

Tips for EV drivers

Major car rental companies offer EV options and electric recharge stations are common across Normandy. Chargemap (the website and app) allows you to filter by vehicle and connector type to find the nearest option. 

This article was adapted from Lonely Planet’s Best Road Trips France guidebook, published in January 2024.