Fodor's Expert Review Château-Museé Grimaldi
Crowning Haut-de-Cagnes is the squat, crenellated Château-Museé—an imposing fortress with banners flying from its square watchtower—that was built in 1310 by the Grimaldis (Prince Albert of Monaco's family) and reinforced over the centuries. You are welcomed inside by a grand balustraded stairway and triangular Renaissance courtyard with a triple row of classical arcades infinitely more graceful than the exterior. Beyond lie vaulted medieval chambers, a vast Renaissance fireplace, and a splendid 17th-century trompe-l'oeil fresco of the fall of Phaëthon from his sun chariot.
The château also contains three highly specialized museums: the Musée de l'Olivier (Olive Tree Museum), which highlights the history and cultivation of this Provençal mainstay; the obscure and eccentric Collection Suzy-Solidor, a group of portraits of the cabaret chanteuse painted by her artist friends, including Cocteau and Dufy; and the Musée d'Art Moderne Méditerranéen (Mediterranean Museum... READ MORE
Crowning Haut-de-Cagnes is the squat, crenellated Château-Museé—an imposing fortress with banners flying from its square watchtower—that was built in 1310 by the Grimaldis (Prince Albert of Monaco's family) and reinforced over the centuries. You are welcomed inside by a grand balustraded stairway and triangular Renaissance courtyard with a triple row of classical arcades infinitely more graceful than the exterior. Beyond lie vaulted medieval chambers, a vast Renaissance fireplace, and a splendid 17th-century trompe-l'oeil fresco of the fall of Phaëthon from his sun chariot.
The château also contains three highly specialized museums: the Musée de l'Olivier (Olive Tree Museum), which highlights the history and cultivation of this Provençal mainstay; the obscure and eccentric Collection Suzy-Solidor, a group of portraits of the cabaret chanteuse painted by her artist friends, including Cocteau and Dufy; and the Musée d'Art Moderne Méditerranéen (Mediterranean Museum of Modern Art), which contains paintings by some of the 20th-century devotees of the Côte d'Azur, including Chagall, Cocteau, and Dufy. If you've climbed this far, continue to the tower and look over the coastline, just as the guards once did while on the lookout for Saracens.
READ LESS
