The Huntington Gardens Lily Pond, doing its best impression (get it, impressionism?) of Monet’s Giverny.
Riddle me this: Is it possible to experience a little piece of France, in the flesh, and without leaving LA county? No need for those heavy Virtual Reality goggles, or an eight hour drive to see the knock-off Tour Eiffel in Las Vegas, because I’ve discovered the ultimate doppelgänger to Giverny— Claude Monet’s charming countryside home and jardin oasis in Normandy.
Just a quick train ride west of Paris, the French impressionist’s preserved residence—and the aesthetic inspiration behind perhaps his most celebrated opus, the Water Lilies series—still inspires guests and art lovers daily with in-person tours.
In fact, if you’re already planning your next trip to France, I found you a 10% discount for a guided Giverny tour with Paris City Vision here.
The real Giverny, as immortalized by Claude Monet, which you can still visit in Normandy.
Monet, Water Lilies & the Huntington Gardens
With my hunger pangs for travel growing stronger each day, I was thrilled to learn than the Huntington Library & Gardens has begun the early phases of reopening. Nestled on more than 120 acres of the Pasadena-adjacent town of San Marino—which is full of suburban charm in its own right, with its picket fences and manicured lawns, quaint downtown, and the stunning early 20th century architecture of its municipal buildings—like Giverny, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the bustle of the city.
At the moment, the Huntington museum and library—once privately owned by one of Pasadena’s original urban city planners, Henry Edwards Huntington as a personal residence—remain closed due to the health crisis, but the sweeping outdoor botanical gardens are once again receiving (fully masked) guests by reservation.
Opened to public in 1928—in accordance with Huntington’s last will, following his death the previous year—the museum houses an incredible collection of 18th century portraiture, as well as European and American oeuvres by Andy Warhol, Edward Hopper, and Mary Cassat, while the library boasts some of the most cherished pieces of work by heralded historical figures—including presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, and original drafts and first editions of works by the likes of Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, and Chaucer.
(Contd. below)
Bienvenue chez moi! Just kidding, it’s the Huntington Library, bien sûr.
And have we talked about the gardens?
Like living botanical exhibits, the sprawling gardens are arranged into 14 outdoor installations—including the Rose Garden, the Camelia Garden, the Desert Garden, the Japanese Garden, and of course—the Lily Ponds.
It was here that I perched myself near the little footbridge—surrounded by lily pads, daffodils, and weeping willow trees, it’s a dead ringer for Claude’s—and imagined myself at the end of a long day of oil painting, hopping on the train and heading the 50 miles east back to Paris.
Incidentally, that’s also where you can visit the giant Monet mural masterpiece, combining eight of the impressionist paintings in the Water Lilies series. Permanently housed in the stark (yet, also grand) ovular basement of the Museé de L’Orangerie, it’s been in residence since Monet’s death in 1927—which is also the same year that took Henry Edwards Huntington.
Coincidence?
The magnificent Water Lilies permanent exhibit at the Museé de L’Orangerie in Paris.
Photo source: L’Orangerie website.