France is well known for its artistic heritage, whether it is the Ice Age cave paintings of south west France or the vast collections of much more recent traditions in some of the finest art galleries and museums of Paris. Of these more recent Western art traditions, it is said that the French Impressionists, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir to name just a few, are the most popular worldwide. Anyone visiting Normandy this summer is in for a treat, in fact if Impressionist art is your passion and you are not visiting Normandy then I urge you to reconsider. The various administrations and museums of Normandy have been organising what promises to be one of the most spectacular festivals ever staged to celebrate the lives and works of Impressionists artists in Normandy. The festival, Normandie Impressionniste 2010, offers a programme of over 150 events from April through to November, throughout Normandy. Most people have heard of Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny. And each year many thousands of people from all over the world visit this typical rural Normandy village. As beautiful as Monet’s garden and the village are. there really is so much more to ...