Musée de Vence — Attraction in Grasse

I rarely give a museum 5 stars, but this small museum deserves it.

I’ve been three times. Each time there has been a stunning temporary exhibition, as well as a small display of the permanent Matisse holdings. The choice of exhibitions is just great – totally original and (mostly) accessible modern art. The curation is helpful, and is in English as well as French; the staff are polite, well informed and friendly, working in English if necessary. And, lastly, the historic building itself is interesting and worth a visit in its own right (as of course is the old village of Vence). Car parking in Vence seems to be easy enough even in peak season. Well worth my 6€, and I’ll be going back next summer.

PS the temporary exhibition in 2023 is amazing. It is hybrid: paper drawings plus objects with augmented reality viewed through a (supplied) tablet. Runs until 12 November.

Update after visit in 2025: the museum has reopened after being closed for works for a year or two. It is the same as before, but with a lift - none of the lovely interior seems to have changed. And the staff are still helpful and friendly, with the obvious excepion of one of the (older) receptionists/gift shop staff, who continues to be abrupt and impolite. Anyhow, the lift os a...

When we visited we arrived at 1730 and were told that although the opening hours are until 1800 we cannot be let in. On top of that, staff delivered this news in a very rude manner. We would have been very happy to just go around for 30 minutes but this was...

Un lieu qui abrite à la fois une exposition permanente ainsi que des expositions temporaires, dont la plupart sont très intéressantes. De plus, cet endroit est très agréable car il s’agit du château fondé par les seigneurs de Villeneuve au XVIIe siècle. Cette vieille bâtisse utilise un mur des remparts et la tour du Peyra construits au XIIIe siècle ! Le bâtiment est très bien entretenu. Enfin, l’accueil est parfait du début à la fin. À noter que l’entrée est gratuite pour les vençois et le musée offre de nombreux...