The museums of Nice, from Matisse to the ruins of Cimiez
Matisse and Chagall loved Nice, and the city loves them back. On the hill of Cimiez, in the old town, Vieux-Nice, or near the Promenade des Anglais, here are the museums to see once you have had your fill of sunshine, or when it rains, which does happen.
Musée Matisse
A red 17th-century Genoese villa among the olive trees of Cimiez, the district where Matisse spent his final years. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, paper cut-outs and personal belongings trace his whole career. Allow an hour and a half, then take a break under the olive trees of the Jardin des Arènes, right outside.
164 avenue des Arènes de Cimiez, 06000 Nice
Musée national Marc Chagall
A museum designed with Chagall himself, around his Biblical Message, a series of large canvases in blazing colours inspired by the Bible. Make time for the blue stained-glass windows in the auditorium and the Mediterranean garden around the building. An hour to an hour and a half is enough, in peace and quiet, on the slopes of Cimiez.
36 avenue Docteur Ménard, 06000 Nice
Musée d’Archéologie de Nice-Cimiez
Here you walk through Cemenelum, the Roman town that looked down on Nice: baths, including a cold room still standing more than ten metres high, an amphitheatre, a residential quarter and the remains of an early Christian church. The museum displays pottery and bronzes. Children love roaming the ruins. Allow an hour and a half.
160 avenue des Arènes de Cimiez, 06000 Nice
Villa Masséna
A Belle Époque villa between the Rue de France and the Promenade des Anglais that tells the story of Nice from the day it became French to the heyday of the English and Russian winter visitors. State rooms, portraits, mementoes of the Riviera of old. The garden, which opens onto the Promenade, is worth the trip on its own. About an hour.
65 rue de France, 06000 Nice
Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret
An Italianate palace built for a Ukrainian princess, high up in the Baumettes district. Paintings and sculpture from the 15th to the 20th century, with a soft spot for the Belle Époque: Jules Chéret, the poster artist who spent his last years in Nice, but also Carpeaux, Dufy and a Crucifixion by Bronzino. An hour, away from the crowds.
33 avenue des Baumettes, 06000 Nice
Palais Lascaris
A 17th-century Baroque palace tucked away in a narrow street of Vieux-Nice, with its grand staircase and painted ceilings. Inside, a fine collection of early musical instruments, including many harps, plus furniture and tapestries. A short visit, three quarters of an hour, ideal between two slices of socca, the local chickpea pancake.
15 rue Droite, 06300 Nice
Coming up here: Concert de Noel A Nice (Wednesday 16 Dec, 8 pm)
Musée international d’Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky
In the west of the city, in the Château Sainte-Hélène, the former home of the perfumer François Coty, set in a large park. Naïve painters from all over the world show their colourful, detail-packed canvases here: children love hunting for the tiny figures. An hour’s visit, to round off in the park.
23 avenue de Fabron, 06200 Nice
Updated 10 November 2026.