Taking the I train: Artsy Impressionist train runs from Paris to Monet’s home

Here’s a Monet you haven’t seen: French express trains decorated inside and out with reproductions of his artworks that will whisk you from Paris to the artist’s Normandy home and beyond.

The Impressionist trains, as they’re called, feature interior reproductions of works by Claude Monet and other Impressionist artists as well as architectural details from the ceiling of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the former train station turned museum, according to a news release.

Outside, reproductions of paintings by Monet and Camille Pissarro wrap the train.

Three decked-out regional express trains operate Saturdays and Sundays. They leave from the Paris Saint-Lazare train station (which Monet famously captured in a series of paintings of steam trains at the station) at 11:05 a.m. and continue on to Vernon-Giverny (the closest stop to the house and garden where Monet painted the water lilies series) and Rouen. Return trains leave Rouen at 6:12 p.m.

The trains will operate until Sept. 25, coinciding with the Normandy Impressionist Festival. It features art shows, live performances and more at venues from Paris to Normandy through Sept. 26.

Visitors can purchase point-to-point tickets or use a rail pass to ride the artsy trains. First-class France Rail Passes start at $134 per person; tickets between Paris and Rouen start at $16 per person; and tickets between Paris and Vernon-Giverny starts at $14 per person.

You can purchase tickets at SNCF’s Impressionist trains (in French) or RailEurope.com.

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