Here Are the Exhibitions You Can’t Miss If You’re Planning a Trip to Paris

*Photo Courtesy: Website/Sortiraparis.com*

France is preparing to mark a century since the passing of Claude Monet with a nationwide celebration of the artist’s life, work, and enduring influence. In 2026, Paris and Normandy will become destinations for art lovers, with major exhibitions, immersive experiences, and cultural events paying tribute to one of the most influential figures of Impressionism.

Monet revolutionized the art world and played a central role in shaping the Impressionist movement. He died on December 5, 1926, at his home in Giverny, Normandy, where he had spent decades painting the landscapes that would become some of his most recognizable subjects.

More than 2,000 of Monet’s canvases have survived and are now held in collections around the world. Among his best-known works are the Nymphéas (Water Lilies) series, his studies of Rouen Cathedral, and Impression, Soleil Levant (Impression, Sunrise)—the painting that famously gave Impressionism its name.

To commemorate the centenary, Paris and Normandy are bringing Monet’s legacy back into focus through exhibitions that explore everything from his relationship with time and light to the landscapes that shaped his artistic vision.

If you’re planning a trip to France in 2026, here are the exhibitions and experiences worth adding to your itinerary:

*Photo Courtesy: Website/Musée de l'Orangerie*

1. Monet, Painting Time

Location: Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris
Dates: September 30, 2026–January 25, 2027

What does time look like when captured on canvas? The Musée de l’Orangerie’s Monet, Painting Time explores the artist’s fascination with the passage of time and its effect on light, color, and atmosphere.

The exhibition will bring together around 40 works, with Monet’s celebrated Nymphéas (Water Lilies) cycle taking center stage. His Rouen Cathedral series will also feature prominently, demonstrating how the artist repeatedly returned to the same subject to capture its changing appearance under different conditions.

The exhibition examines how Monet’s artistic practice evolved during a period when society itself was becoming increasingly conscious of standardized time, public clocks, and new ways of measuring the day.

Adding a contemporary touch to the experience is a virtual reality component, Monet on the Water, which invites visitors to explore the artist’s fascination with light and the constantly changing atmosphere around him.

For anyone looking to see Monet through a more immersive lens, this exhibition offers a closer look at the ideas behind some of his most iconic paintings.

*Photo Courtesy: Website/Travel Caffeine*

2. Histories of Landscape: From Monet to Hockney (1890–2026)

Location: Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
Dates: September 24, 2026–January 31, 2027

The Musée Marmottan Monet will take visitors beyond Monet himself with Histories of Landscape: From Monet to Hockney (1890–2026), an exhibition exploring the evolution of landscape painting from the late 19th century to contemporary art.

The museum, which houses the world’s largest collection of Monet’s works, will examine how landscape painting developed after Impressionism and how Monet and his contemporaries influenced artists who followed.

Among the modern artists featured in the exhibition is David Hockney, whose work offers an opportunity to see how ideas surrounding landscape, perception, color, and perspective continued to evolve long after Monet.

The exhibition provides a broader look at Monet’s artistic legacy—not simply as a historical movement, but as an influence that continues to resonate in contemporary art.

Beyond Paris: Normandy & Giverny

Monet’s story cannot be fully experienced through museums alone. Some of the places that shaped his artistic vision remain in Normandy, making the region an essential stop for those looking to follow in the artist’s footsteps.

*Photo Courtesy: Website/*Le Havre Etretat Normandie Tourisme

3. Monet in Le Havre

Location: Musée d’Art Moderne André Malraux (MuMa), Le Havre
Dates: June 5–September 27, 2026

Before Monet became one of the defining figures of Impressionism, his artistic journey began in Normandy.

Monet in Le Havre focuses on his formative years from 1845 to 1874, bringing together around 80 works that explore the early development of his artistic style.

The exhibition features caricatures, drawings, still lifes, and marine paintings while tracing Monet’s experiences from his family’s arrival in Le Havre to the emergence of the Impressionist movement.

It also highlights the influence of artists Eugène Boudin and Johan-Barthold Jongkind, whose approach to painting outdoors and capturing changing atmospheric conditions helped shape the young Monet.

*Photo Courtesy: Website/*Réseau des musées de Normandie

4. Before the Water Lilies: Monet Discovers Giverny (1883–1890)

Location: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny
Dates: March 27–July 5, 2026

Long before his famous water garden became synonymous with his work, Monet was already captivated by the landscapes surrounding Giverny.

Before the Water Lilies: Monet Discovers Giverny (1883–1890) focuses on the artist’s early years in the village, where he eventually established the home and gardens that would become central to his later work.

The exhibition explores the landscapes that caught Monet’s eye—including fields of poppies, rows of poplars, winding paths, and the banks of the Epte and Seine rivers.

After viewing the exhibition, visitors can experience many of these landscapes for themselves, offering a rare opportunity to connect the paintings with the places that inspired them.

*Photo Courtesy: Website/*Fat Tires Tours

5. Normandy Impressionist Festival 2026: Monet’s Giverny Gardens Reinvented

Location: Various venues across Normandy
Dates: May 29–September 27, 2026

The 2026 edition of Normandy’s Impressionist Festival will place Monet and his celebrated gardens at the heart of its program.

The festival will bring together artists and cultural events across the region, spanning visual arts, music, film, dance, and other creative disciplines.

At the center of the celebration is Giverny, where Monet spent more than four decades of his life and developed the gardens that would inspire his iconic Water Lilies series.

Rather than simply looking back at Monet’s work, the festival offers a contemporary interpretation of his artistic legacy, bringing new creative perspectives to the landscapes and ideas associated with the painter.

*Photo Courtesy: Website/*Normandy Tourism

Walk in the Master’s Footsteps

For a true Monet-inspired trip, the experience doesn’t have to end when you leave the museum.

Paris and Normandy still offer glimpses of the landscapes that captivated the artist. From the streets and gardens of Paris to the forests of Fontainebleau and Marly, visitors can explore the natural settings that influenced generations of landscape painters.

Further north, the dramatic chalk cliffs of Étretat offer another iconic Normandy landscape connected to Monet’s work and his fascination with changing light and atmosphere.

And, of course, no Monet itinerary would be complete without Giverny, where visitors can walk through the gardens that became inseparable from the artist’s later years and his enduring Water Lilies series.

A century after his death, Monet’s world remains remarkably alive. In 2026, his paintings, gardens, landscapes, and artistic ideas will once again take center stage—making France a destination for anyone who wants to experience the story of Impressionism beyond the canvas.