Attractions
Cimiez
Cimiez sits in a residential area in the hills above the city and contains the Archaeology Museum, Matisse Museum, the Franciscan Museum and Monastery and a large park nestled among olive groves. You can also visit the Musée National Message Biblique Marc-Chagall, where some 450 pieces of Chagall’s work are on display. Cimiez is especially nice to visit during a few weeks in August, during the Nice Jazz Festival. Enjoy live jazz performed on three stages, in the olive groves and the Roman Amphitheatre every day until midnight. It will take you an hour to walk from the city’s centre, so you may want to hop on a bus.
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts to examine a lovely collection of 19th- and 20th-century art. The collection includes works by Raffaelli, Monet and Renoir, as well as sculptures by Rude and Rodin and an entire collection devoted to the masters of the Second Empire and Belle Epoque. The building itself was once the home of Ukrainian Princess Kotchubey.
Address: 33 Avenue des Baumettes.
Telephone: (0)4 9215 2828.
Website:www.musee-beaux-arts-nice.org
Getting there: Take bus 3, 9, 12, or 22 to the Grosso stop or bus 38 to the Chéret stop.
Hours of operation: Closed Mondays. Daily, 10am–6pm. Admission: Adults - €5, Discounts - €2.50.
Musée Matisse
The Musée Matisse has several permanent collections of the artist’s work, much of which was painted in Nice, where Matisse spent the last few years of his life. Some of the better known pieces include Nude in an Armchair with a Green Plant (1937) and Portrait of Madame Matisse (1905). The museum also displays a collection of the artist’s drawings and sketches.
Address: 164 Av. des Arènes de Cimiez.
Telephone: (0)4 9381 0808.
Email:musee.matisse@ville-nice.fr
Website:www.musee-matisse-nice.org
Getting there: Take bus 15, 17, 20, 22 or 25. Hours of operation. Closed Tuesdays. Daily, 10am–6pm.
Admission: Free. Guided Tours - €5. Discounts available.
Phoenix Parc Floral de Nice
This enormous tourist attraction houses a botanical garden, a bird and insect zoo and a theme park with automated dinosaurs near the airport. The best part of the park is the Musée Départemental des Artes Asiatiques. Inside you can explore an interesting collection of ethnographic artifacts like silk and pottery, as well as both contemporary and traditional art.
Address: 405 Promenade des Anglais.
Telephone: (0)4 9229 3700.
Hours of operation: Museum: Closed Tuesdays. From 2 May to 15 October, 10am–6pm. From 16 October to 30 April, 10am–5pm. Park: From March to October, 9am–7pm. From November to April, 9am–5pm.
Admission: Museum - Free. Park - €6.
The Château
The Château park offers magnificent views over Old Nice, the promenade des Anglais and the Mediterranean. Although the Château itself is long gone, it’s still a lovely place to enjoy cool walks in leafy shade. You can explore Roman ruins, a waterfall or rest for a bit in the grassy park. To get there, climb the steps from the Quai des Etats Unis. There is also an elevator available. Antibes
Head a few miles east to visit Antibes, where you can browse through one of the best produce markets in the South of France. Every summer morning you can buy bushels of fresh local produce. For a bit of culture, head to Château Grimaldi, a 16th-century, seafront castle that houses a Picasso museum. Picasso lived in the castle for a few months in 1946. Most of work on display at the Musée Picasso was completed during his stay in the castle, but there is also some other of Picasso’s work and the work of some of his contemporaries. Right next to the castle is a medieval cathedral. The choir and apse are original while the nave and façade were added later.
Hours of operation: Musée Picasso – Closed Mondays. Tuesday to Sunday 10am–6pm from 15 June to 15 September. During the rest of the year open 10am–12pm and 2pm–6pm.
Admission: €6.
