Unmissable Culture on the Côte d’Azur

Travelling to the French Riviera this year? Here’s our pick of 12 outstanding experiences not to miss on the Côte d’Azur. Note: This article is part of a bigger magazine feature called “Take it Slow on the Côte d’Azur”

FESTIVALS IN 2022
Home to world-famous festivals like the Nice Carnival, Menton’s Fête du Citron, Juan-les-Pins Jazz and the Cannes Film Festival, the region also boasts countless small cultural events. For more information, click here.

GARDENS TO VISIT
From tropical paradises, manicured lawns with fountains, exotic hillsides studded with cacti to sublime vistas overlooking the Mediterranean, any visit should include a garden. For more information, click here.

MUSÉE PICASSO
In the heart of Antibes, the ancient Château Grimaldi is home to the Picasso Museum and features other contemporary sculptors and artists. Picasso actually lived here for a while in the 1940s. For more information, click here.

MUSÉE MATISSE
At the heart of the Arènes de Cimiez in Nice, you’ll find the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre that held up to 5,000 spectators, as well as the Musée Matisse in a sumptuous 17th-century Genoese villa, where you can admire the painter’s personal collection. For more information, click here.

MUSÉE NATIONAL FERNAND LÉGER
A huge mosaic façade welcomes you as you arrive to admire more than 400 works by the painter. The museum in Biot displays his art from the start of Cubism to the Abstract period. For more information, click here.

VILLA EILEEN GRAY E-1027
Newly restored, this icon of Modernist architecture in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, which was Eileen Gray’s first architectural creation, is a must-see for anyone who appreciates the precision and detail of late 1920s design, both exterior and interior. For more information, click here.

FONDATION MAEGHT
A unique and timeless place in which art, architecture and nature exist in harmony together. You’ll find paintings, ceramics and sculptures by all the most famous names of the 20th century in this magical setting in Saint-Paul de Vence. For more information, click here.

VILLA KÉRYLOS
This unique recreation of an ancient villa from Greece was built between 1902 and 1908. Mosaics, frescos, marble columns, fountains, thermal baths and a stunning coastal location on the Baie des Fourmis in Beaulieu-sur-Mer make it an unmissable stop. For more information, click here.

CHÂTEAU DE LA NAPOULE
This fortress and château overlooking the Baie de Cannes was restored and reinvented by eccentric American expats Henry and Marie Clews in the 1920s and 1930s. Take your time to absorb the architecture, art and spectacular gardens. For more information, click here.

MUSÉE NATIONAL MARC CHAGALL
Head to Nice for this must-see collection of Marc Chagall’s work, including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and ceramics, as well as stained glass, tapestry and mosaics. For more information, click here.

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
The museum known as MAMAC in Nice houses a permanent collection of works by Niki de Saint Phalle, Yves Klein and the international POP movement as well as a roster of interesting temporary shows. For more information, click here.

MUSÉE RENOIR
Immerse yourself in a tribute to Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the painter spent the last 12 years of his life. See paintings and sculptures and admire his studio, left as he once used it, in his former home. For more information, click here.

From France Today magazine