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Archaeology Museum of Nice-Cimiez: This relatively new museum adjoins the ruins of Cemenelum, from the first to the fourth century the Roman capital of the Alpes Maritimes. The site includes an amphitheater, public baths, paved streets and a Paleochristian group of buildings dating from the fifth century. The museum houses collections from the Bronze Age through the dark ages, including sculptures, coins, jewelry, tools, ceramics and glass. 160 Avenue des Arènes, ☎ 33 04 93 81 59 57, closed Tuesdays.
Matisse Museum: Matisse made Nice his home from 1917 until his death in 1954. This museum has a comprehensive collection of works from all periods of his life, including all the books he illustrated. In keeping with the Fauvist artist’s colorful palette, the work is housed in a 17th-century, Genoan-style mansion painted a brilliant Pompeian red. 164 Avenue des Arènes de Cimiez, ☎ 33 04 93 53 40 53, closed Tuesdays.
Fine Arts Museum: A very good (and very big) collection of paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries, including works by Fragonard, Dufy, Sisley, Boudin, as well as major works by Ziem and Van Dongen and sculpture by Rodin and Carpeaux. The building itself, once a private mansion, built in 1878 at the height of the Belle Époque, will knock your socks off. 33 Avenue des Baumettes, ☎ 33 04 92 15 28 28, closed Mondays.
The Marc Chagall Museum: Based on a donation by the artist, this museum was built to house Chagall’s work, Message Biblique, which includes 17 enormous paintings as well as mosaics, tapestries, and stained glass windows. The museum also includes more than 200 preparatory sketches, 39 gouaches, 105 engravings and 215 lithographs undertaken in the course of completing his great project – which took him 30 years. This museum, the largest collection of work by Chagall under one roof, is part of France’s National Museum and therefore not included in Nice’s municipal museum admission program. Avenue Dr. Ménard, corner of Boulevard de Cimiez, ☎ 33 04 93 53 87 20. Admission €5.50, open July 1 to September 30, 10 am to 6 pm and October to June, 10 am to 5 pm. Closed Tuesdays.
THE CIMIEZ DISTRICT If you go up Cimiez Hill to visit the Matisse Museum or the Roman ruins, take some time to walk around the Cimiez gardens and the residential streets of the quarter. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this was the summer resort for most of the crowned heads of Europe and the streets are lined with their sumptuous villas. |
Prieuré du Vieux-Logis: This small treasure features a late medieval interior in a 16th-century house. The collection includes 14th- to 16th-century everyday objects. Although one of Nice’s municipal museums, it has its own, very limited, hours. 59 Avenue Saint Barthélémy, ☎ 33 04 93 84 44 74. Open 3 to 5 pm, Wednesday to Saturday and one Sunday a month.
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