Claude Monet once said, “It may be because of flowers that I’ve become a painter.” Students enrolled in the Arcadia University’s summer study abroad program at the American Graduate School in Paris took a day-trip to Giverny in Normandy recently to visit the legendary artist’s house, now a museum, and the magnificent gardens around it which inspired many of his most famous paintings.

Giverny is a 45-minute train ride from Paris. Students were able to tour the house where Monet lived for 43 years until his death in 1926. The residence and artist workshop were preserved to look the same as they did at the time he and his family lived there. Many of the painter’s personal objects are displayed, as well as his collection of Japanese prints. The students could also visit the flower garden (“Clos Normand”) and water garden (“Jardin d’Eau”) which Monet developed like one of his impressionist paintings: finely arranging the composition, colors and perspectives.

“I really enjoyed the trip—it was great for AGS to provide an excursion midway through our program,” said Nina Wroniak, who’s enrolled in the summer study abroad program. “After a refreshing hike through the countryside, I really enjoyed sharing a meal with my companions and AGS staff, then exploring the unimaginably beautiful gardens and home of Claude Monet. It was a refreshing break from fast-paced Parisian life.”

AGS Program Coordinator Jennifer Wright added: “One of the most amazing parts of the visit was the waterlily gardens that are pictured in many of Monet’s paintings. We have two Art History Majors in the group, and they were particularly excited with the visit as they got to see for real what they have studied in the classroom.”

This field trip was organized as one of the cultural extra-curricular activities in the six-week summer program in Intensive French and Politics organized with Arcadia University’s College of Global Studies. Find out more about that program.