Day 1 – To Nice: Fly from London Heathrow to
Nice with British Airways. Transfer to the Hotel
Massena for 7 nights. Late afternoon visit to
the Jules Chéret Museum, which houses a
collection of paintings by Chéret, sculptures by
various artists and ceramic pieces by Picasso.
Evening welcome dinner. (D)
Day 2 – St Paul de Vence: This morning,
travel to St Paul de Vence to visit the Maeght
Foundation. This private foundation houses an
important collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic works of art from the
20th century, including works by Arp, Miró
and Giacometti. Continue to the Chapel of the
Rosary, which houses a number of Matisse
originals and was regarded by Matisse himself
as his masterpiece. Return to Nice. (B)
Day 3 – Villefranche, Cap Ferrat & Menton: Drive to Villefranche to visit the chapel of St
Pierre, decorated by Cocteau. Continue to one of
the Côte d’Azur’s legendary villas, the Ephrussi
Rothschild museum, which displays a collection
of precious artefacts in a series of themed
gardens. This afternoon, travel along the coast
to see Eileen Gray’s villa in Roquebrune Cap
St Martin, considered a real landmark piece of
modernist architecture and to see the Cocteau
museum and wedding room in Menton. (B)
Day 4 – Nice: Morning visit to the Marc
Chagall museum with its collection of 17
canvases, all with a biblical message, and the
Matisse museum, which displays some of his
earliest works and sculpture pieces. Afternoon
at leisure, with an opportunity to visit the
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art,
displaying works from the 1950s onwards. (B)
Day 5 – Biot & St Tropez: Drive to Biot to visit
the National Fernand Leger Museum, set in
magnificent gardens designed by Henri Fish, and housing a collection of 348 original works
of art. Continue to St Tropez, which has an
exceptional artistic heritage. Visit the Annonciade
museum, which displays the work of some of the
greatest masters of modern times, with themes
centred on the French Riviera and Provence. (B)
Day 6 – Antibes & Vallauris: Travel to Château
Grimaldi in Antibes, home to the Picasso
museum, where many of the paintings
produced by Picasso during his stay at the
château in 1946 have been donated to the town
by his second wife. Continue to Vaullauris, a
small potters’ town, revived by Picasso after
he created many ceramic objects here between
1948 and 1955. See his masterpiece War and
Peace, before returning to Nice. (B)
Day 7 – Aix en Provence: Today’s sightseeing
begins with a walking tour of the city followed
by a visit to the Granet museum, regarded as
one of the richest museums in the province,
with more than 13,000 works from Egyptian
archaeology to Roman mosaics and sculptures.
Continue to the Jas de Bouffan family property,
where Paul Cézanne produced his first Sainte-
Victoire mountain from the garden and then see
Cézanne’s workshop as it was during his time
here. Evening farewell dinner in Nice. (B, D)
Day 8 – To London: This morning, visit the
Bonnard museum, exclusively devoted to
painter Pierre Bonnard and his life in Le
Cannet. After some time at leisure, transfer
to the airport. Fly to London Heathrow with
British Airways. (B)
Extensions: If you wish to extend your stay for
more independent sightseeing, please contact
Cox & Kings for details.
Meal Basis: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner, (N) = No Meals
