Rail Europe Offers Impressionist Art Tour Through Normandy

Normandy/Photo by: zinchik/ iStock/Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images

Rail Europe is inviting travelers to embark on an art-themed tour through Normandy, France, experiencing world-renowned Impressionists painters and the scenery that inspired their work.

Through September 25, Normandy and the French National Railway Company will be hosting their third annual Normandy Impressionist Festival with cultural activities, art exhibitions, live shows, and more. The events highlight Impressionist art that was influenced by the steam trains that revolutionized the era, such as Rain, Steam and Speed by Turner, and Monet’s The Gare St-Lazare. 
 

In celebration of the event, three French regional express trains (TER) have been wrapped in copies of paintings by Monet and Pissarro and are being referred to as the “trains of Impressionism.” 

On board, passengers can discover famous artwork with descriptions on the walls while they follow the paths Monet, Renoir, and Delacroix used 150 years ago. Departing from the Paris Saint-Lazare train station, which is the station that inspired Monet for a series of paintings, the train stops at Vernon-Giverny, site of the house and garden where Monet painted his Water lilies series, the Normandy capital, Rouen, with the final stop in the town of Le Havre.

If travelers opt to pass on the “train of Impressionism,” they still have the option of taking a traditional TER through Normandy and visit all of the train stations that have been decorated in celebration of the event. 
 
For travelers who wish to make this easy connection to Normandy from Paris, Rail Europe offers a point-to-point local train ticket, or with a France Rail Pass, board any Normandy-bound TER train with no reservation needed. 
 

Visit raileurope.com.