Inside Monet's House: The Pink Villa

Follow the path from the parking lot and you'll arrive naturally at the entrance to Monet's house. The site consists of the house, the Flower Garden and the Water Garden, and we'll start with the house. Monet bought the property and lovingly tended it in the second half of his life. His son donated it to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1966, and the Fondation Monet restored it in 1980, turning it into the popular attraction near Paris that it is today.

With its green-painted shutters and pink walls, the house reflects Monet's distinctive personality. Inside you'll find an unusually large collection of Japanese genre paintings and ukiyo-e woodblock prints that Monet gathered during his lifetime. At the time, Van Gogh and many other Impressionists were swept up in Japanese culture, a trend known as Japonisme. The Japanese works here date from the 18th and 19th centuries and number over 200, including pieces by Kitagawa Utamaro, Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige. According to the guide, though, all of the Japanese-style works in the house are copies, and the originals hang at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris.

The largest room on the ground floor is the sitting room, where Monet's paintings cover three walls (all but the window wall). It started as Monet's first studio, where he worked obsessively until 1899, then became a salon for serving tea to guests. It has an English-style sofa, and beneath each painting the title and the museum that owns it are engraved.

Upstairs, the first room is the bedroom where Monet died. He chose the spot with the best view of the garden, and the large window looks out over the grounds far into the distance. Gaze out, and you can't help but sigh happily. On this floor you'll also see a photograph of his second wife, Alice, and other photos show that her children and Monet's two sons lived here together as one big family.

Back on the ground floor are the dining room and kitchen. The dining room has been restored exactly as Monet used it. The whole house is decorated in yellow, which was strikingly modern at the time, and the color scheme was reportedly all Monet's own doing. The walls are crowded with Japanese woodblock prints, and a tall glass cabinet painted yellow displays blue pottery and a yellow-and-blue dinner service Monet had custom-made. The walls are covered in Rouen-style tiles whose character reflects Monet's sensibility, and they're popular with visitors, who can buy them in the gift shop. They also pair nicely with the blue paint on the furniture. The kitchen is recreated as the family used it, with copper pots and pans on the range and oven. Even the Japanese-style planter on the table hints at Monet's love of Japonisme.

Next stop: the Flower Garden, right outside the house.