Monet's Train - Givernon — Attraction in Les Andelys

AVOID! Rip off and never on time (confirmed by locals). Avoid even more if you have a train to catch / are on a schedule.

The driver welcomes you by screaming “train to Monet’s garden and house, 10€ / person for a return ticket” upon arrival at Vernon-Giverny station. Sounds good and fun. We asked “when are you leaving?”, response was “Right now! Have a seat and I’ll come give you a ticket”. Once the train is filled up (60 people) he tells everyone it’s cash only AND that you have to pay for the return trip or get out, and if you don’t have cash, it’s ok because there is a cash machine right next to the train at the SNCF train station”. With most people not using cash, everyone starts jumping off the train, rushing to / queuing at the cash machine and delaying the departure (we left ~25-30 minutes after arrival at Vernon station).

Once you arrive at the parking spot near the Monet grounds, he tells you to come back at such or such time so that you can make it back to the train station on time afterwards. We were told “3pm pick up” for our 3.38pm train. He he never showed up…leaving many people stressed out because of the situation. We then asked a local what was going on and he kind of laughed at the situation claiming that the driver is always late because he only cares about the train being full from the train station where people pay for their return ticket upfront.

The best way, if you don’t want to wait with dozens of stressed out people for the little train or bus shuttle, is to order an Uber (only a handful of taxis available from the train station).

One star because we have to, but maybe the only + is the recorded background story given to the riders while on the road to Monet’s house.

Terrible experience and...

Without doing any research we hopped on the train and was very happy with the service. It was a hot day but we didn't want to miss out on the view by going on a coach/bus, so we still got on the cute train. It was hot while waiting, but when it was running with breeze flowing in and with the audio guide playing on the train, it was a pleasant trip. Not to mention the lovely interactions between the passengers and local residents. The locals are all very friendly and wave back when we were waving and saying hello to them. The train went through some local attractions as well, which was a bonus point for us. For returning, the driver made sure he told everyone where to meet him afterwards and told us to take a photo of the timetable for returning to Vernon. He showed up at the same time as the coach/bus, so I guess he was on time? We didn't even check the time cause it didn't feel like we were waiting for a long time. The driver has such a cheerful and friendly character - he deserves a higher score than the current one. But yes, I agree with some reviews that cash only needs to be told a bit earlier maybe, so that people can be more prepared. We had a bit of cash handy so it didn't bother us, thanks to many Europe trip tips that tourists better bring some cash as a lot of places only...

UPDATE: Read the other reviews! This "issue" seems to be a frequent thing! If they are aware they are going to be delays due to holiday, they should inform passengers ahead. Not doing so makes it dubious. ------‐----------------‐-‐------------------------------ Rode this little train this morning. The fare is round trip only. The trip going to Monet's Garden/Giverny was pleasant and informative. 2 stars because they did not come back at the timed schedule that they posted. They were supposed to pick up all passengers at 1:30 p.m. but the train wasn't there and it was already 1:25. We overheard a french lady tell the others that due to holiday, the train will be late. How she knew, we don't know. The train driver should have informed us when she dropped us off that there will be delays but instead she kept on repeating the pick up times. So we had to spend money again to pay for Uber to get us back to Vernon since our train time for Paris is at 2:04 p.m. When we arrived at the Vernon station, the little train was still there - empty, and this was past 1:30. We feel sorry for the others who were still waiting for it. Should have taken the shuttle...