Travel bucket list idea:
Marc Chagall National Museum
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Credit Shutterstock.com/EQRoy
Last updated: 09 March, 2024
Housed in a low, modest-looking building among pretty Mediterranean gardens, this museum houses the painter Marc Chagall’s remarkable cycle of 17 glowing, colour-drenched paintings inspired by the Bible. This permanent collection is the biggest public collection of works by the artist anywhere.
One of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Chagall has an entirely unique style that borrowed from many schools of modern art, including Cubism, Fauvism, Symbolism, Surrealism, Orphism and Futurism.
The artist was heavily inspired by the Cote d’Azur, and lived in nearby Vence from the 1940s to the 1980s, becoming a key part of the region’s rich art scene.
Replete with Chagall’s trademark folk symbolism, the colour-saturated, dreamlike works in Nice’s pristine white museum have a special magic, especially the brilliant red Song of Songs.
Logistics
Price from: £8
Minimum age: 0
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
Parking is difficult, and it’s a long slog up the hill, especially in the hot summer months, so take the No.15 bus from Place Massena or a taxi. Bring some ID to temporarily exchange for one of the museum’s excellent audio guides in English, and allow time to see the fascinating 30-minute film on Chagall in the museum auditorium.
There’s a café in the gardens serving light meals and drinks from February to December.
When to do it
The museum is open all year round, Wednesday to Monday. Closed Tuesdays. There’s free entry on the first Sunday of each month.
