This tiny village located about 45 minutes northwest of Paris offers the perfect getaway from the hectic city streets. Meet at the office and take a private bus for the relaxing drive through the Normandy countryside to the town of Vernon. There, you’ll visit a local farmer’s market, then after a picnic lunch with a view, you’ll cruise down a 5 kilometer/3 mile bike path to Monet’s house and gardens.

As you’re passing beautiful wheat and sunflower fields, your guide will begin to explain the history of impressionism and its founding father, Claude Monet. Here, you’ll skip the lines to have free time to visit the brilliantly colored flowers lining every inch of the gardens’ pathways, the Japanese bridge and famous water lilies, and his house, left intact from when he last lived there.

Duration: 8 hours and 30 minutes