Art lovers in France savour painter Monet's lush gardens without the crowds

Claude Monet's gardens, the inspiration for his famous Water Lilies paintings, reopened to the public recently in Giverny, Normandy, as France emerges from three months of lockdown.

The Impressionist painter's lush gardens usually swarm with tourists, attracting more than half a million visitors a year and making them one of the most visited sites in the northern province of Normandy.