Our river cruise ship docked in the town of Les Andelys and we were given the opportunity to visit…read morethe remains of Château Gaillard. This was an impressive medieval castle built by the English, led by Richard the Lionheart, in 1198 and overtaken by the French in a siege in 1204. The 30 minute hike up the hill to the strategic as well as scenic overlook was a great way to get some countryside fresh air as well as your fitness steps for the day. The state of the art castle was built in only 2 years. There's a lot of medieval history to be taken in here, and we were nicely treated to a 45 minute video documentary on the place before our arrival and that certainly enhanced the visit.

This little town was a stop on our river cruise. It was an overcast day, and my daughter and I had…read moreenough of looking at old ruins so we headed into town to go shopping, while my fiancé and son chose to go explore the ruin. There is a very scenic riverwalk along the one side of the town, which we strolled down at the start of our shopping adventure. We did experience a quick downpour, so we ran into the town church to get out of the rain. It's a beautiful, beautiful, quaint little church, with nice stained glass windows. Would highly recommend a peek inside if you're at that end of the town. The town itself is very small, but it had several very unique antique shops, and various boutiques where I picked up scarves and purses, and other mementos. One in particular, right near the hotel, virtually everything was hand sewn by the owner. Lots of great linens and other items to choose from. I bought several gifts for friends back home, along with sachets and other items. This was probably my most favorite little shopping adventure on our entire river cruise. My fiancé and son trooped all the way up to the ruin in the pouring rain, but they thought it was a great opportunity to see the views and do some exploring. We really enjoyed our afternoon in this little town and would highly recommend it!

Lovely little museum of Monet's art. We stopped by after visiting Monet's house & gardens. We…read moreenjoyed reading about his life and works and seeing his paintings. We spent around 30min-45min.

Free entry to the museum was all we needed to hear! After a wonderful few hours at Monet's…read moregardens, we saw the sign welcoming visitors so we went inside 3 rooms of widely spaced artworks & this exhibition was covering comparisons of Monet and Rothko. Never would have thought to compare the two but it worked! Lots of benches to sit & gaze at the masters & contemplate their works We were fans!

This little castle (or Dungeon) was in the former border between France and Britain during the…read moreEarly Middle Ages. Nice to visit (guided visit) and a cool look out to the countryside.

Going to Monet's garden at Giverny had been a "bucket list" item for me, and I was able to make the…read moretrip recently while visiting Paris! It was such a beautiful place and did not disappoint. The flowers in mid-April were beautiful to see, with huge peonies, lots of tulips, crocuses, wisteria on the Japanese bridge, and other spring blooms. This also seemed to be a good time to visit as it gets more packed during the summer. Tip: Rather than doing a bus tour, it was fairly easy to simply take the SCNF train to Vernon. From Vernon, there are regular shuttle buses directly to Monet's garden for 5 Euros each way (10 Euros round trip), so it is very straightforward. The train from Paris to Vernon leaves from Gare St. Lazare. Also, if you do go via train to Vernon to get to Giverny, there was an adorable cat cafe there for lunch: Cookie's Cat Cafe!

We visited in early June and the most wonderful flowers were blooming!…read moreWe had a guided tour through Viator, which you don't need. We only had to do it for the transportation from Paris to Versailles. We went through the house first, because later in the day, the line for the house can get long. The house had interesting decor and colors, and a TON of Japanese artwork, which he fancied. I enjoyed checking out the old school kitchen. There are some paintings of his in the first room, of both of his wives. The garden was magnificent. They have a path that has directions. You can't just go anywhere you want. Some areas are blocked off. Workers were busy pulling weeds etc. There is a Japanese garden that isn't too far to walk. That was very peaceful. It surrounds a lake with lily pads. Very picturesque. Summer is a great time to visit because lots of things are in bloom. Later, the sunflowers will bloom. So each season has its own stars. I have heard winter time isn't fantastic for flowers, which makes sense. So I would say spring summer and fall are best for the gardens.