Claude Monet's House and Gardens

Monet purchased the Giverny property in 1890 after renting it for seven years, using proceeds from his increasingly successful paintings. He then spent decades transforming the land, even diverting a branch of the Epte River to create his famous water garden - a project that initially faced fierce opposition from local farmers who feared his exotic plants would poison their water and livestock.

The Japanese bridge, perhaps the most photographed spot in the garden, was painted by Monet over 45 times between 1899 and 1926. He painted it in different seasons, weather conditions, and times of day, obsessively capturing how light transformed the same scene. These paintings now hang in museums from New York to Tokyo.

After Monet's death in 1926, the property fell into severe disrepair for decades. His son Michel inherited it but never lived there, and by the 1970s, the house was nearly in ruins with the gardens completely overgrown. It took a massive restoration effort funded by American donors, particularly the Versailles Foundation, to restore everything to its original glory before opening to the public in 1980.