Cote d'Azur Questions
 

We have been thinking about France for 2007, and maybe an art and villages tour on the Riviera. We are especially interested in visiting the museums in Nice, the Maeght Foudation, the Picasso pottery workshop at Vallauris, and any other art sites you can recommend.

Additionally, since we are planning to stay a week, does anyone have experience with an apartment rental?

And can you recommend a town to base ourselves in that would have a lot of charm? I'm thinking of Antibes, or Villefranche, but welcome other recs.

Tourrettes sur Loup has wonderful craft shops. The Maeght is fabulous. We stayed in St-Paul-de-vence at the art laden Colombe D'Or.

Nice has the Matisse museum, the Chagall museum, and Beaux Arts museum, and a modern-art museum. In Biot you will find a marvelous art-glass museum, in the same area where you can watch glass being blown. Both Valbonne and Mougins are filled with are galleries. Villefranche has the Jean Cocteau chapel, and of course the superb Chapelle de la Rosaire, in Vence, was designed by Matisse. It's breathtaking, but call before you go as assorted lesser religious holidays mean the chapel could be closed.

The Picasso museum in Antibes is, unfortunately, closed for renovation, but with luck it will have re-opened by the time of your visit.

San Tropez has the small-but-cherce Museum of the Annonciade: stunning Post-impressionist paintings.

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, on St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, is a treasure-trove of objets d'art, as well as lovely carpets and wall hangings.

If you want to wander farther afield, there is the Cézanne house in Aix-en-Provence--and the van Gogh itinerary for St-Rémy-de-Provence.

Nice has the Matisse museum, the Chagall museum, and Beaux Arts museum, and a modern-art museum. In Biot you will find a marvelous art-glass museum, in the same area where you can watch glass being blown. Both Valbonne and Mougins are filled with are galleries. Villefranche has the Jean Cocteau chapel, and of course the superb Chapelle de la Rosaire, in Vence, was designed by Matisse. It's breathtaking, but call before you go as assorted lesser religious holidays mean the chapel could be closed.

The Picasso museum in Antibes is, unfortunately, closed for renovation, but with luck it will have re-opened by the time of your visit.

San Tropez has the small-but-cherce Museum of the Annonciade: stunning Post-impressionist paintings.

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, on St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, is a treasure-trove of objets d'art, as well as lovely carpets and wall hangings.

If you want to wander farther afield, there is the Cézanne house in Aix-en-Provence--and the van Gogh itinerary for St-Rémy-de-Provence.

A nice place to base yourselves would be the Bastide des Oliviers, just below Grasse, which is about a 20-minute drive to the coast but away from the crowds. Here's the link:

http://bastide-oliviers.com/spw/bo/

Valbonne is also a very nice place to stay; just outside the town on the road to Nice is the Bastide de Valbonne, with a nice pool and a beautiful patio beneath terraced gardens.

As we say in Pittsburgh, "Yinz guys 'r really smart." Thanks for all the great tips.

Anyone else have accomodation recs?

We have discussed the possibility of a trip to what we are calling "The Two Rivieras" and visiting our favorite spots on the Italian Riviera at the same time. It will depend on time, of course, but it does sound nice to us.

ttt

I believe that the Picasso Museum in Antibes is under renovation for 18 months, due to reopen in the summer of 2007.

In addition to the great advice already given, I think you should get (or borrow from your library) a copy of Barbara Freed's <u>Artists and Their Museums on the Riviera</u>. It showcases 28 museums, highlighting both the collections and the artists' personal stories.

My top 3 museums/sites would be:

1. Matisse chapel in Vence
2. Chagall Museum
3. Maeght Foundation

We are partial to Vence because it's a small, working city with a charming old town. We rented a Gite on the outskirts of town (car needed) last year and will return in a couple of weeks. The owners, whose home is adjacent, are lovely and there's a resident black cat, Cookie, for lap-sitting when you read by the pool (shared w/owners).

http://www.gite.com/clos-gentil

Best of luck~

mvor

The book sounds like just what I need. I will order it right now.

Thanks so much.

There is a small Picasso museum in Vallauris.