Côte des Deux Amants Hilltop Panorama
Climb the wooded escarpment above Vernon — the town that serves as Giverny's gateway — and you are rewarded with one of the most sweeping views in the Seine valley: a wide, looping river, chalk cliffs, patchwork fields and, on clear days, the spire of Vernon's collegiate church below. It costs nothing and almost no one makes the effort.
The Climb and the Legend
The Côte des Deux Amants ('Hill of the Two Lovers') takes its name from a medieval legend about a young man who had to carry his beloved to the hilltop without resting to win her father's approval — he succeeded but died of exhaustion at the summit, and she died of grief beside him.
The marked trail from the village of Amfreville-sous-les-Monts on the opposite bank takes about 40 minutes on foot; from Vernon itself you can reach the plateau via the GR2 long-distance path in under an hour.
What You See from the Top
The plateau sits roughly 100 metres above the river and gives an unobstructed 180-degree arc across the Seine valley — you can trace the river's great meanders, spot the poplar-lined banks that Monet painted from his boat, and see the ruins of the medieval bridge at Vernon that appear in several of his canvases.
Sunrise and late-afternoon light turn the river to hammered copper; bring a telephoto lens if you have one and look for herons working the shallows far below.
Combining with a Bike Ride
The most satisfying way to reach Giverny from Vernon is by bicycle along the flat D5 road beside the Seine, and the Côte des Deux Amants makes a logical detour on the return leg — rent bikes at Café du Cyc'loire in Vernon (€14/day) and loop back via the hilltop for a full afternoon circuit.
The plateau also has a small picnic area with benches; a baguette sandwich from Vernon's boulangerie and a view of the Seine is an entirely adequate reason to come.
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