The stuff of lasting impressions

Lynne Whiley explores the landscapes and towns of the Seine River that inspired van Gogh and Monet.

Claude Monet is said to have had a team of gardeners polish the leaves in the pond at Giverny, his estate north of Paris, such was the importance of each element the genius impressionist painter perceived. He painted the pond countless times – sometimes daily – immortalising the waterway, lilies and trees, and creating large-scale works, the best of which hang in the Musee de l'Orangerie in Tuileries Gardens, central Paris.

Monet's pond and extensive gardens are still tended by a team, who plant and prune, weed and tidy. The artist's home from 1883 to his death in 1926, Monet's substantial, two-storey house and adjacent studios showcase his work, influences and personal effects. Walls are lined with family photographs; creative endeavour and the domestic documented side by side.

Giverny is a popular place with art lovers, and being here helps round out an immersive few days spent viewing works by impressionist and post-impressionist painters at key Paris museums. The estate is also a stark counterpoint to the spartan scene I'd visited the previous day – a room atop the Auberge Ravoux, a village inn at Auvers-sur-Oise. Vincent van Gogh spent his final months here in 1890, painting and writing non-stop – his genius unrecognised – before dying in his tiny, uncluttered room, which is entered via the inn's dark, narrow back stairs.

The village's Gothic-era church, Notre Dame d'Auvers, is still standing; Van Gogh's famous painting of it, in which the church seems to ooze to the ground, all grim grey stone below his signature brooding blue sky, hangs in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.

Seeing masterpieces, then seeing where the artists lived and worked, is a key attraction for passengers on an eight-day Paris to Normandy's Landing Beaches cruise on the Seine River on board the sleek 140-passenger Avalon Creativity. As the name suggests, the itinerary combines art, history and key World War II sites vital to the successful Allied campaign to liberate France in 1944.

A round-trip cruise from Paris to the Upper Normandy city of Rouen, where passengers disembark and travel by road to the beaches, doesn't cover a lot of physical territory, given Rouen is about a 90-minute journey by car or train from the capital. But road or rail travel would mean missing out on the splendid scenery along the meanders of the Seine, the bright and diverse mix of passengers such an itinerary attracts, the delicious seven-course dinners served on board, and the languid pleasure of viewing river life through floor-to-ceiling windows – from the comfort of bed.

Seven locks on this stretch of the Seine are efficiently navigated by captain and crew, and as Creativity's suites each have a sliding door opening to a Juliet-style balcony rail, passengers can get as close to a lock's chamber walls as maritime law – and commonsense – allows.

Suites have white walls with pale-wood finishes, plenty of desk and wardrobe space, individually controlled airconditioning, crisp bedlinen, soft bath robes, L'Occitane products in the bathroom and a good hairdryer. The espresso machine in the ship's rear lounge won't disappoint passengers who like a robust brew, and an excellent selection of wines and beers with dinner is included in the fare.