04/02/2026
France is spending all of 2026 honoring the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet's death, and the range of what's being planned is genuinely extraordinary.
The Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris holds the largest Monet collection in the world - over 100 paintings - and it is worth visiting this year specifically, because the museum closes in 2027 for renovations.
At the Musée de l'Orangerie, a major new exhibition called "Monet, Painting Time" examines how his entire body of work was shaped by an obsession with capturing passing light and fleeting moments.
The Musée d'Orsay, which holds 79 Monet canvases of its own, has already launched the centenary internationally with a joint show sent to Tokyo.
In Giverny, the Musée des Impressionnismes is presenting "Before the Water Lilies" through July 5, focused on the years Monet first arrived in Normandy and rented the famous pink house before he could afford to buy it.
The Normandy Impressionist Festival runs from May 29 through September 27 across the whole region - Honfleur, Rouen, Le Havre, Vernon - with roughly 50 contemporary art projects reinterpreting his garden as their theme.
On December 5, the exact centenary of his death, a tribute will take place at his grave in Giverny.
If you are planning a trip to France this year, following the Monet trail from Paris to the Normandy coast is one of the most complete ways to experience the country right now.
Have you visited Giverny or seen the Water Lilies at the Orangerie?
