Chagall and Matisse, two museums on the hill of Cimiez and the afternoon in the old town.

A day to understand why painters stayed in Nice. In the morning you go up to Cimiez: first the museum that Marc Chagall saw built for his Biblical Message, then the red villa of the Matisse Museum among olive trees and Roman ruins. You come down for Niçoise cooking on the Cours Saleya, where Matisse had his flat-studio from 1921 to 1938, and finish by looking at the bay from Castle Hill. It is a good plan for winter or a grey day.

How to get there

By air. There are direct flights to Nice Côte d'Azur (NCE) from Madrid and Barcelona. Arrive the day before and take tram 2 to the centre. The Chagall is about fifteen minutes' walk from Nice-Ville station; if you sleep far away, bus 5 stops in front.

The day, hour by hour

10:00 · Marc Chagall National Museum. It opens at 10:00. The great canvases of the Biblical Message fill the main room; look also at the stained glass and the mosaic above the garden pond. Admission costs €12 during temporary exhibitions and €10 the rest of the year; under-26s from the European Union do not pay. Go here first: in November and December 2026 it closes from 13:00 to 14:30.

11:45 · Matisse Museum. Go up to Cimiez by bus to the Arènes / Musée Matisse stop; line 5 links the two museums. Admission costs €10, or €15 for the four-day pass to the municipal museums; under-18s go in free. On leaving, the monastery garden and Matisse's tomb are next door.

13:45 · Lunch at Le Safari. Take the bus down to the centre and walk to the Cours Saleya. Le Safari has continuous service, so there is no rush. Order the Cascade Niçoise to try everything and the daube with homemade ravioli; menus run from €35 to €60.

16:00 · Castle Hill. From the end of the Cours Saleya, by the stairs or the lift on quai des États-Unis. In winter the park closes at 18:00: you arrive with light to see the bay and the harbour.

With children or in the rain

In the rain the plan works: both museums are indoors and Le Safari has an indoor dining room. Skip the hill if it rains, because the lift does not run. With children, the Matisse does not charge until 18 and the Chagall until 26 if they are from the European Union; on Wednesday afternoons the Matisse runs workshops for children aged 6 to 11.