Fondation Maeght — Attraction in Grasse

The Maeght Foundation or Fondation Maeght (pronounced [mɑɡ]) is a museum of modern art on the Colline des Gardettes, a hill overlooking Saint-Paul de Vence in the southeast of France about 25 km (16 mi) from Nice. It was established by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght in 1964 and houses paintings, sculptures, collages, ceramics and all forms of modern art. The collection includes works by many important 20th-century artists including Jean Arp, Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Sam Francis, Alberto Giacometti, Wassily Kandinsky, Ellsworth Kelly, Fernand Léger, Anne Madden and Joan Miró among others. The building was designed by the Spanish architect Josep Lluís Sert, houses more than 12,000 pieces of art and attracts "on average, 200,000 visitors ... every year". There is a small chapel dedicated to Saint Bernard, in memory of Bernard, the son of Aimé and Marguerite Maeght who died of leukemia, aged eleven. The foundation is entirely independently funded with no reliance on state subsidies. Adrien Maeght is the chairman of the foundation's administrative council, which also includes Isabelle Maeght and her sister Yoyo Maeght. Labyrinth is the set of sculptures and ceramics created by the Catalan artist Joan Miró for Marguerite Aimé Maeght, between 1961 and 1981. It is currently located at the Maeght Foundation in Saint Paul de Vence, France. Labyrinth consists of 250 works, mainly sculptures, scattered in a garden with terraces overlooking the sea, which illustrate the story of the connection between the Maeght family and Joan Miró. The labyrinth is a walk through the mind and imagination...

🌿 MoodGuide Review — Fondation Maeght / Joan Miró Exhibition

There are places that show art. And there are places where you become part of it. This one belongs to the second kind.

Hidden among pine trees in the south of France, Fondation Maeght is not just a museum — it’s a sanctuary of presence. I came here looking for silence. I found emotion sculpted into form, color that vibrates like memory, and works that cost millions — but feel deeply personal.

Joan Miró never painted for the eye alone. His lines speak in a language you feel somewhere between ribs and breath. Here, under quiet ceilings and soft Mediterranean light, his pieces don’t just hang — they float. Some of them playful, some meditative, some bold. Like moods. Like us.

You walk through the garden — and you smile at a surreal figure. You sit on a bench — and feel like part of the canvas. You see €60 million on the wall — and yet it’s not money you remember. It’s the calm. The texture. The way blue suddenly means “freedom.”

This is not just a space for art. This is where your mood becomes the guide.

📍Save this place. Come alone or with someone who doesn’t need to talk too much. And let the silence paint its own...

Well worth the trip from Nice for art lovers (15-minute ride on SNCF train from Nice-Ville, then maybe 20-min ride on bus 655), BUT:

1. The bus takes cash only and only cash!! As of April 2025, fare is 2.20 euro one-way.
2. It is an UPHILL climb from bus stop (conveniently named Fondacion Maeght) to entrance of the estate. Took us 15-20 minutes. 3) The day we visited, people who had bought advance tickets still had to wait in line to redeem them. That might be different in high season.
3. There is a lovely on-site restaurant called Sous Les Pins with tables indoors and outdoors, but if you don’t make an advance reservation you might be out of luck. Entrees are around 25 euros, appetizers and drinks priced accordingly. Think about packing in a lunch and drinks!
4. If you plan to visit the actual medieval walled town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence (Marc Chagall’s stomping grounds after 1966 and where he is buried), take the bus one stop further and walk back down to Fondacion Maeght bus stop when...