Art, taste and the scents of spring between Mougins and Saint-Paul De Vence
The two villages on the Côte d'Azur have always been favourite residences of many artists and offer very original museum experiences
Key points
The intensity of the light and the colours of the landscape. These are the elements that have made the villages of the Côte d'Azur a popular destination for internationally renowned artists, to the point that many have chosen to live there, leaving traces of their creativity. Examples of this are Mougins and Saint-Paul de Vence, two of the most exclusive resorts in this part of France and perfect to visit in the quiet of low season spring days, when these villages show their most authentic and cosy dimension and it is possible to experience the fascination felt by the artists who have been fascinated by them, but also to devote the right amount of time to the museums and institutions that guard their cultural heritage.
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A unique place celebrating women artists
Perched on a hill, just a few minutes' drive from Cannes, the medieval village of Mougins, whose origins date back to the 1st century B.C., fascinates with the spiral shape of its historic centre that wraps around the bell tower. A tangle of streets and squares on which stand art galleries and museum institutions that preserve intact the link with art that has always attracted intellectuals and artists. Pablo Picasso lived his last years of life in Mougins with his wife Jacqueline Roque. Since June 2024, the heart of the country has also been distinguished by a cultural avant-garde of great significance: the opening to the public of Famm (Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins), a private museum, the first in Europe, entirely dedicated to female artists to celebrate and highlight their creativity, because despite their valuable contribution to the world of art, they are often relegated to secondary roles compared to their male colleagues. Commissioned and realised by collector Christian Levett, who decided to transform his former classical art museum into this space, Famm offers visitors a very original museum experience. A permanent collection of paintings, sculptures and photographs representing the main artistic movements, from Impressionism to contemporary art, almost one hundred works by ninety internationally renowned artists, including Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Niki de Saint-Phalle and Marina Abramović, as well as emerging artists. Mougins' artistic vocation is also confirmed by the Art Centre, an exhibition space located in a medieval building in the town centre and dedicated to the promotion of modern and contemporary art in its various forms of expression - until 6 April 2026 it is exhibiting Reminescence, the first institutional exhibition in Europe dedicated to the French artist Elizabeth Colomba - and the Photography Centre, dedicated to the still and moving image, which hosts temporary exhibitions by national and international artists. But the art also continues with Mougins Monumental, an open-air sculpture exhibition that displays thirty bronze sculptures by Beth Carter in the streets of the village until 1 November 2026.
Gastronomic stations
In this village on the Côte d'Azur, the artistic experience goes hand in hand with the gastronomic one. Since 2012, Mougins is the only French town to have been recognised as a 'City and Artistic Craftsman' in the field of cooking. The story of this exceptionality begins in the 1950s, when the fisherman chef Célestin Véran began to attract the tourists he used to bring by boat, inviting them to taste the famous bouillabaisse, a soup prepared with fresh fish, in his village. Subsequently, where Véran prepared his dishes, chef Roger Vergé opened the restaurant Le Moulin de Mougins in 1969, taking the village to the pinnacle of the gastronomic world by obtaining its first Michelin star only a year after opening. Even today, some fifty restaurants contribute to Mougins' international gastronomic reputation, such as the historic L'Amandier, opened by Roger Vergé in 1977, which welcomes customers at the entrance to the village and serves traditional Provençal cuisine.
The Places of Jean-Michel Folon, Marc Chagall and Rémi Pesce
It could be said that it was artists, in the early 1920s, who were the first tourists to Saint-Paul de Vence, a medieval village located inland from Nice about half an hour's drive from Mougins. It has also become a favourite spot for generations of artists, and there have been several who, especially since the post-war period, have passed through or settled there, such as Jean-Michel Folon, Marc Chagall, Rémi Pesce or Giuliano Mancini. If there is one place in Saint-Paul de Vence that most symbolises the passage of art personalities, it is La Colombe d'Or: a hotel and restaurant still run by the Roux family. Founded in 1920 as a café-bar with an open-air terrace, it soon became a cosy inn, only to turn into a meeting place for intellectuals and artists around the 1940s. The walls of the building were quickly filled with paintings, often exchanged for a stay or a meal, thus contributing to a unique atmosphere where the presence of those who passed through still seems tangible today. A feeling that is strongly felt when visiting the Maeght Foundation, located five minutes from the village, is the first independent art foundation in France and holds one of the most important collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic works of modern art and contemporary artists in Europe. The project, desired by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght, of an artists' village conceived in perfect harmony with nature, took shape in 1964 thanks to the Catalan architect Josep Lluís Sert. An aesthetic to which the creativity of Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque, Alexander Calder and Fernand Léger contributed, each appropriating a space in the building or the gardens, these masters have left an unprecedented legacy. Also not to be missed is a visit to the recently opened CAB Foundation, dedicated to design and minimalist art: the exhibition Abstract Constructions Nassos Daphnis - Rita Mcbride is on until 25 October, displaying a selection of works by two American artists: paintings by Nassos Daphnis and sculptures and installations by Rita McBride. Among the rooms of this foundation, housed in an elegant 1950s building, the same light that seduced the artists of yesteryear filters through the windows.
