11. Describe a garden you have visited and liked

You should say:

Where it was
What it looked like
What you did there
And explain why you liked it there

I would like to share with you my impressions of a garden that I visited last summer, which was full of colour and interest: Claude Monet’s house and garden in Giverny, France.

As a big fan of Monet’s paintings, especially the famous “Water Lilies”, I had always dreamed of seeing he scene in real life. So, when some friends suggested a visit last year, I jumped at the chance. After a journey of about an hour by train from our hotel, we arrived at Giverny. The garden was exactly as he had painted it – it was a riot of colour, from the peaceful white of the water lilies to the striking reds and oranges which filled some of the flowerbeds. The two parts of the garden complemented each other perfectly.

We first admired the array of bright flowers and fruit trees in the Clos Normand, but my favourite part was the water garden, and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll, taking in all the colours, perfumes and bird songs. Monet avidly collected prints of Japanese gardens, and these inspired the Japanese bridges covered with wisterias, the water lilies in the pond, and the bamboo and weeping willows which he planted. For me, it was like a wonderland of colours and a dream come true after so many years.

IELTS Band 8 Sample Topics