Alpes-Maritimes Museums
Amusements and things to do in the Alpes Maritimes department in the South of France.
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Antibes 06600 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Fort Carré
Open: Off season: Wed, Sat, Sun; 10-12h45, 13h30-15h
This 16th century fort was opened for guided visits in 1999.
Museum of History and Archeology
Location: At the Bastion St. André, at the south end of the ramparts
Open: Tue-Sun, 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: holidays, Nov
Tel: 0492 905 435
The Bastion (built in 1682 by the engineer Niquet as part of Vauban's fortifications) contains an archeological exhibit from ancient Antipolis
Musée Naval et Napoléon
Location: in the Tour Sella (old Tour du Graillon) on the Cap d'Antibes
Open: Mon-Fri, Sat mornings, 9h30-12h, 14h15-18h15
Closed: holidays, Oct
Tel: 0493 614 532
Musée Peynet
Peynet, who has lived in Antibes since 1950, drew "The Lovers".
Location: At the Place Nationale (with the tall column, between the post office and the covered market)
Open: Tue-Sun, 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: holidays
Tel: 0492 905 430
Musée Picasso
The Picasso museum is in the Chàteau Grimaldi, between the covered market on the Place Massena and the ramparts. Picasso worked here in the chàteau in 1946, and his studio is part of the museum. The collection includes an enormous amount of his work, including Mediterranean marine and mythological life done here, and ceramics done in nearby Vallauris in 1948-49.
Open: 15 June-15 Sept: 10h-18h; 16 Sept-14 June: 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: Monday; holidays; 1 Nov-10 Dec
Entry: about 4 euros
Tel: 0492 905 420; Fax: 0492 90 54 21
Beaulieu-sur-Mer 06310 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Villa Kérylos Greek Villa
Location: 5 Empass Gustave Eiffel; South of the center, towards the Plage Fourmis
Entry: €11.50 (2018)
Côte d'Azur seaside Palazzo, luxurious reconstitution of an Ancient Greek Villa. At the edge of the sea, facing the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula, the Villa is a magic place that takes you back in time. Entirely furnished and decorated, the Villa's many rooms bear witness to the art of living and refinement of Ancient Greece.
Breil-sur-Roya 06540 (Alpes-Maritimes)
EcoMuseum of the Haut Pays and Transports - EcoMusée du Haut Pays et Transports
Opened in 1989 in the old locomotive depot in the village of Breil-sur-Roya. A museum of the local region and especially the railway line that runs up over the Col de Tende.
Open: May - Sept: 7 days, 14h-18h30
Cagnes-sur-Mer 06800
Renoir Museum
Location: Chemin des Collettes
Open: 10h-12h; 14h-18h through Sept. 10h-12h; 14h-17h from 1 Oct.
Closed: Tue
The Renoir museum is located about 1000 m northeast of the town center, out the ave. Renoir and then onto the Chemin des Collettes.
Menton Museums 06 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Musée des Beaux-Arts du Palais Carnolès
Also a garden.
Location: 3 Ave de la Madone
Entry: free
This Fine Arts museum is in the old summer residence of the Princes Grimaldi of Monaco.
L'Ecomusée de la forge
Location: 2 rue du Grenadier
Entry: free
19th century blacksmith's forge.
Galerie d'Art du Palais de l'Europe
Location: 8 Ave Boyer
Entry: free
This art gallery exhibits French and foreign contemporary artists. Located in the old casino, constructed in 1908-09 by the Danish architect Hans Georg Tersling.
Musée Jean Cocteau
Location: Vieux Port
Open: All year, 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: Tue and holidays
Entry: 3 euros. Free the first Sun of the month and for under 18s.
The Bastion, a small 17th-c for was converted by Jean Cocteau into an exhibition place for his work, including drawings, paintings and tapestries.
The Mentonese Faiences
Location: 63 Bvd du Fossan
Open: daily 9h-12h, 14h30-17h
Closed: Sat, Sun
Regional Prehistory Museum
Location: Rue Lorédan Larchey
Entry: Free. Group guided visits are available for up to 25 students per group (54 euros).
Menton's Musée de préhistoire Régionale is located two blocks northeast of the town hall (Mairie), at the top of the Rue Loredan-Larchey. The interior is fairly small (by big-city standards) but the presentations are outstanding. And the prehistoric history displayed is based around local discoveries in the caves of Vallonet, Lazaret and Grimaldi – with also the Vallée de Merveilles (Mercantour) and the Terra Amata site of Nice.
The displays include several individual diaramas with life-size bronze figures in typical settings. There are different audio-visual presentations, and many informative graphical diagrams.
Salle des mariages (Wedding Hall)
Location: Place Ardoïno
Open: daily, 8h30-12h30, 14h-17h
Closed: Sat, Sun, holidays
Entry: 1.50 euros; under 18s free
Decorated with wall paintings in the 1950s by Jean Cocteau.
Nice Museums 06 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Asiatique Art Museum - Musée des Arts Asiatiques
Contains ancient and modern items from the Chinese, Japanese, Cambodian and Indian civilizations; housed in the only European building by Kenzo Tange.
Location: 405 Promenade des Anglais _ Arenas
Open: 2 May - 15 Oct, 10h-18h; 16 Oct - 30 Apr, 10h-17h
Closed: Tuesday; 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec
Entry: €6/4.00; free under 14; free 1st & 3rd Sundays.
Tel: 0492 293 700; Fax: 0492 29 37 01
Musée Chagall
A very complete collection of Chagall paintings, gouaches, engravings, sketches, lithographs and stained-glass windows.
Location: Ave du Docteur Ménard (just outside the Voie Rapide, where the Bvd de Cimiez starts up the hill; across from the Conservatoire de Musique).
Open: Oct - June, 10h-17h; July-Sept, 10h-18h
Closed: Tuesdays; Jan 1st; May 1st; Dec 25th
Entry: €6.70/5.20; free under 18.
Tel: 0493 538 720; Fax: 0493 53 87 39
The nr 15 bus is free between the museums Chagall, Matisse, and Cimiez-Archeology; get a bus pass at any of these three museums.
Cimiez Monastery and Franciscan Museum
Location: Place du Monastère (Cimiez, past the east end of the park)
Open: 10h-12h, 15h-18h
Closed: Sunday, some holidays
Entry: Free
Tel: 0493 810 004
In a 17th-century convent, still an active monastery. The museum shows the Franciscan way of life from the 18th century. The 15th-17th century church contains documents and artwork, including three paintings by Louis Brea. The park and flower gardens are beautiful and peaceful, and have a nice view of the Paillon valley.
Cimiez Museum of Archeology - Musée et Site Archeologiques de Cimiez
At the site of Roman Cemenelum at Cimiez, this museum presents the tools, sculptures, pottery, engravings, jewelry and coins found here, and includes the outside excavations of the ancient baths and other buildings.
Location: 160 avenue des Arènes; in the lovely red building with trompe-l'oeil facades inside the park area.
Open: April-Sept, 10h-12h, 14h-16h
Closed: Sun morning, Monday, 18-30 Nov, some holidays.
Entry: Museum €4/2.50; under 18 free. Archology site an additional €3/1.50. Free 1st & 3rd Sundays.
Tel: 0493 815 957; Fax: 0493 81 08 00
The nr 15 bus is free between the museums Chagall, Matisse, and Cimiez-Archeology; get a bus pass at any of these three museums.
Dufy Museum and Gallery
An excellent collection of paintings, engravings, water colors, ceramics and tapestries by Raoul Dufy.
Location: 77 Quai des Etats-Unis
Open: 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: Sunday morning, Monday, some holidays
Entry: 15F/9F
Tel: 0493 623 124
Fine Arts Museum - Musée des Beaux-Arts (Musée J. Chéret)
Italian 17th-century and French 18th-century paintings, and 19th-century paintings and sculptures.
Location: 33 ave. des Baumettes (west of Bvd Gambetta and Bvd Franço;is Grosso, between the Promenade des Anglais and the Voie Rapide)
Open: 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: Monday, some holidays
Entry: €4/2.50; free under 18; free 1st & 3rd Sundays.
Tel: 0493 445 072; Fax: 0493 97 67 07
Web: www.musee-beaux-arts-nice.org
This museum now houses the Dufy collection and the Alexis and Gustav Adolf Mossa collections, previously in the Dufy Museum-Gallery and the Mossa Museum-Gallery.
Heritage Center - Centre du Patrimoine
A site of patrimonial information about Nice and the local region, open to the public.
Location: 75 quai des Etats-Unis (in the terraced buildings between the sea-side and the Cours Saleya of the old town)
Open: Mon-Fri, 8h30-17h
Entry: Free
Tel: 0492 004 190
Lascaris Palace Museum - Musée des Arts Decoratifs Baroque
This "museum" is in the 17th-century Genovan-style palace residence of the Lascaris-Ventimille family. The palace itself, with its monumental staircase, is worth the visit, and the old furnishings and collections are an extra. A new addition (2005) of ancient musical instruments of Nice.
Location: 15 rue Droite (in the middle of the old town, off Rue Rossetti)
Open: 10h-18h
Closed: Tuesday; some holidays
Entry: Free
Tel: 0493 627 240; Fax: 0493 92 04 19
Also, conferences most Thursdays, 14h30, at the Théâtre Francis Gag, rue Saint-Joseph, Vieux-Nice; free entry.
Massena Art and History Museum - Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
The Musée Massena has an excellent collection of paintings, furniture, decorations, weapons, uniforms and other artifacts that give a good feeling for the history of the Nice-Piémont region.
Location: 35 Promenade des Anglais; 65 rue de France (between rue de Rivoli and rue Meyerbeer)
Open: 10h-12h, 14h-18h [Closed for repairs, until 2007!]
Closed: Mondays, 19 Nov - 1 Dec, some holidays.
Entry: Closed for repairs, until 2007!
Tel: 0493 881 134; Fax: 0493 82 39 79
Matisse Museum
Includes Matisse's personal collection. Matisse lived in Nice from 1917 until his death in 1954.
Location: 164 ave des Arénes de Cimiez, in the Cimiez park, just to the right of the red Archeology museum building, "below ground".
Open: 10h-18h, all year.
Closed: Tuesday; some holidays
Entry: €4/2.50; free under 18; free 1st & 3rd Sundays.
Tel: 0493 810 808; Fax: 0493 53 00 22
Web: www.musee-matisse-nice.org
The nr 15 bus is free between the museums Chagall, Matisse, and Cimiez-Archeology; get a bus pass at any of these three museums.
Modern and Contemporary Art Museum - Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain
American and European avant-garde art from the 1960s to the present.
Location: Promenade des Arts (in the "promenade" between the bus station and the modern Acropolis center);
Open: 11h-18h every day
Closed: Monday; 1 Jan; Easter Sun; 1 May; 25 Dec.
Entry: €4/2.50; free under 18; free 1st & 3rd Sundays.
Tel: 0493 626 162; Fax: 0493 13 09 01
Web: www.mamac-nice.org
Mossa - Museum-Gallery Alexis and Gustav Adolf Mossa
Father Alexis Mossa and Son Gustav Adolph were both painters. Alexis was the creator of Nice's carnival procession.
Location: 59 Quai des Etats-Unis
Open: 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: Sunday morning, Monday, some holidays
Entry: 15F/9F (for the Dufy and Mossa museums)
Tel: 0493 623 711
Naive Art Museum Anatole Jakovsky
A wonderful collection of naive art in an old manor house on park-like grounds. The collection, donated to the city in 1982 by Mr. and Mrs. Anatole Jakovsky, shows the progression of naive art from the 18th century.
Location: Chàteau Sainte-Hélène, avenue Val-Marie (about half way out the Promenade des Anglais towards the airport, and on the north side of the Voie Rapide)
Open: 10h-12h, 14h-18h
Closed: Tuesday, some holidays
Entry: €4/2.50; free under 18; free 1st & 3rd Sundays.
Tel: 0493 717 833; Fax: 0493 72 34 10
Natural History Museum - Museum d'Histoire Naturelle
Presents the natural history of our earth from the beginning. Four separate rooms are dedicated to birds, fungi, geology and mineralogy. Includes a natural-science library (free entry, by request).
Location: 60 bis, bvd Risso; Entry via the archaeological site, ave Monte Croce (between Place Garibaldi and Rue Barla)
Open: 10h-18
Closed: Monday; some holidays
Entry: Free
Tel: 0493 551 524; Fax: 0493 55 81 96
Web: www.mhnnice.org
Naval Museum - Galerie de la Marine
A spacious museum with wood parquet floors and beautiful ship models, period-piece nautical instruments, arms, engravings and paintings. There's a great view of the sea and the beaches of Nice, from the roof-top terrace or the portholes of the museum. A powerful telescope provides an amusing view of the beach.
Location: Tour Bellanda, up 214 steps (or by elevator) at the Port end of the seaside (Colline du Chateau)
Open: 10h-18h
Closed: Monday; some holidays
Entry: Free
Tel: 0493 623 711
Photography and Image - Theatre de la Photographie et de l'Image Charles Nègre
Opened in this permanent site in 1999.
Location: 27 Bvd Dubouchage (3 blocks east of Bvd Jean Médecin, at the corner or Rue Alberti)
Open: 10h-18h
Closed: Monday; some holidays
Entry: Free
Tel: 0497 134 220
Web: www.tpi-nice.org
Jan through April 2005: Edward Curtis expositon of American Indian photos.
Ponchettes Gallery-Museum - Galerie des Ponchettes
Temporary exhibits of paintings, drawings, ceramics, etc.
Location: 77 Quai des Etats-Unis (on the sea-side of the buildings along the Cours Saleya of the old town)
Open: 10h-18h
Closed: Monday; some holidays
Entry: Free
Tel: 0493 623 124
Prieuré du Vieux Logis
An old manor house built in the exact style of a rural Dominician priory. The contents on display include 14th-16th century furniture and regional items.
Location: 59 ave Saint Barthélémy (the north part of Nice, a couple of blocks west of Bvd Gorbella; near the Villa Arson)
Open: Closed for renovation; not due to reopen until 2006.
Entry: Free
Tel: 0497 133 415, or 0497 971 033
Russian Church - L'Eglise Russe
This Russian Orthodox Cathedral (1903-1912) is one of the most beautiful ever built outside of Russia, similar to St. Basel's in Moscow. The interior is ornate and exotic, and includes items commemorating the Grand Duke Nicolas Alexandrovitch who died in Nice in 1865
Location: Bvd Tzarewitch
Open: June-Sept 9h-12h, 14h30-18h; Oct 9h15-12h, 14h30-17h30; Nov-15 Feb 9h30-12h, 14h30-17h; 16 Feb-May 9h15-12h, 14h30-17h30
Entry: 12F
Tel: 0493 968 802
Prehistoric Museum of Terra Amata - Musée de Terra Amata - Prehistoire
This museum displays an "in situ" exhibition of prehistoric man. The elephant hunter's camp displayed here, actually discovered in the center of Nice, is so life-like it makes you feel like you are there with them.
Location: 25 Bvd Carnot; just off the Bvd. Carnot, a couple of blocks past the port in the direction of Villefranche-Menton.
Open: 10h-18h
Closed: Monday; some holidays
Entry: €4/2.50; free under 18; free 1st & 3rd Sundays.
Tel: 0493 620 554; Fax: 0493 92 04 19
Web: www.musee-terra-amata.org
Villa Arson
This lovely red 18th century villa is an international art school (with artists in residence) and center for contemporary art. This lovely red 18th century villa is an international art school (with artists in residence) and center for contemporary art.
Location: 20 ave Stephen Liégard (the north part of Nice, a couple of blocks west of Bvd Gorbella; near the Prieuré du Vieux Logis)
Open: July-Sept 13h-19h daily; Oct-June 13h-18h except Monday
Entry: Free
Tel: 0492 077 373; Fax: 0493 84 41 55
Web: www.villa-arson.org
Puget-Rostang 06260
Roudoule Area Ecomuseum - Ecomusée du Pays de la Roudoule Roudoule
This very interesting little museum shows the geology, history and heritage of the Roudoule region. Exhibitions include ancient agricultural tools, crafts and trades, and rebuilt building interiors. There's even a set of reproductions of Bréa.
Open: May-Sept: Tue-Sun; Oct-June by rendezvous
Tel: 0493 050 738
Web: www.roudoule.com
Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat 06230 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Seashells Museum - Musée du Coquillage
Location: Quai du vieux port
Open: Mon-Fri 10h-12h30, 14h-18h; Weekends and holidays 14h-18h.
Entry: €2; €1 kids
Tel: 0493 761 761
Email: gb@sosgrandbleu.asso.fr
Tende 06430 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Honey Museum - Maison du Meil et de l'Abeille
Location: Place Lieutenant Kalk
Open: June - Sept, 9h-12h, 13h30-17h30
Tel: 0493 047 622, or 0493 930 ie)
Musée départemental des Merveilles
Location: Av. du 16 Sept 1947 (on the main street in the northern part of town).
Open: 1 May - 15 Oct: 10h-18h30; 16 Oct - 30 Apr: 10h-17h
Closed: Tuesday
Entry: 4.57 €; reduced 2.30€; kids under 7 free
Tel: 0493 043 250; Fax: 0493 04 32 53
Natural history, archeology and the ethnology of the upper Roya valley. The museum is mainly about the prehistoric and Bronze Age rock engravings of the Mont Bégo part of the Mercantour Park.
Valbonne 06560 (Alpes-Maritimes)
Le Musée du Patrimoine
"Le Vieux Valbonne" (Was called the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires)
Location: In the Couvent Chalaisien, beside the church at the bottom of the village
Open: Tue-Sun. Oct-May 14h-18h; June-Sept 15h-19h
Closed: Monday
Entry: 2 €; under 12 free
Tel: 0493 129 654
Email: le_vieux-valbonne@abbyvalb.org
Web: www.abbyvalb.org
Guided visits of the abbey by rendez vous: tel 0493 129 654 (during open hours)
Vallauris 06220
5 km west of Antibes; 4 km northeast of Cannes.
Ceramics Museum
Modern Art Museum
Picasso Museum
The 16th-century Chateau-musée, or Picasso museum, in Vallauris has Picasso's "War and Peace" fresco and "the Korean Massacres". These are his two main historical pictures other than "Guernica". You can see other Picasso works in Vallauris' Modern Art Museum and the Ceramics Museum.
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