Just ten minutes from Giverny sits one of Normandy’s quiet treasures, the Old Mill of Vernon, or Le Vieux-Moulin. At first glance, it seems almost impossible, a half-timbered house standing above the Seine, balanced on a pair of stone arches.
A Bridge Between Centuries
The Old Mill rests on the last surviving piers of a medieval bridge that once joined Vernon and Vernonnet. The original bridge was built in the twelfth century under the reign of Philippe Auguste and once had seventeen arches stretching across the Seine. By the sixteenth century, small houses and mills had appeared on top of it. The current mill dates from that time. It used a suspended wheel powered by the river’s current to grind grain for the local population.
Over the years, the bridge suffered from floods, ice, and neglect. By the early nineteenth century, only a few arches remained. Then came World War II. In 1940, bombings destroyed what was left of the bridge. When the dust settled, two stone piers were still standing, and the mill, astonishingly, had survived. Its wooden frame was damaged but held together, a stubborn reminder of how much this place has already endured.
An Artist’s Muse
Painters and photographers have long been drawn to the Old Mill. Claude Monet, who lived nearby in Giverny, painted it in 1883 in his work Houses on the Old Bridge at Vernon. The painting now hangs in the New Orleans Museum of Art, but the light that inspired it is still here.
How to Get There from Giverny
It’s about six kilometers from Giverny — ten minutes by car, a little longer if you bike or walk. The route follows the Seine through fields and trees, quiet and easy. If you’re coming from Giverny, it’s one of the simplest and most rewarding detours you can make.
Before You Go
You can’t enter the Old Mill, but the area around it is open year-round and perfect for a walk or picnic by the river. There’s parking close by and plenty of room to sit, breathe, and take it all in.