The Matisse Museum, a red villa among olive trees, over the Roman ruins of Cimiez.

What it is

Henri Matisse arrived in Nice on Christmas Day 1917, stayed first in seafront hotels, lived from 1921 to 1938 in a flat-studio above the Cours Saleya and ended his days at the Regina, the former grand hotel on the Cimiez hill. He died in 1954 and is buried in the Cimiez monastery cemetery, a few steps from the museum. The Matisse Museum is the municipal museum dedicated to him: a 17th-century Genoese villa painted red, the Villa des Arènes, with a modern underground extension, in the middle of an olive grove and next to the ruins of the Roman city of Cemenelum.

The collection covers his entire career: paintings, drawings, sculptures, engravings, paper cut-outs from his last years and objects the painter had in his studio that appear in his paintings. The rooms are rehung each season and some works go out on loan, so what you see depends on the moment. Until 18 January 2027 there is a temporary exhibition, Henri Matisse – Alex Katz.

Opening hours and price

Open every day except Tuesday, from 10:00 to 17:00 between 1 November and 31 March, and from 10:00 to 18:00 between 1 April and 31 October. The ticket office closes half an hour earlier. Closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December, and exceptionally on Monday 30 November 2026 for maintenance.

The individual ticket costs €10 according to the museum's website. If you are going to see more than one municipal museum, the four-day pass costs €15 and opens all the city's museums and galleries. Under-18s and students pay nothing, with proof. The Chagall Museum is national and is not included in the pass.

Getting there

It is at 164 avenue des Arènes de Cimiez. By bus, lines 5, 16, 18, 33 and 40 stop at Arènes / Musée Matisse. By car you park on the avenue and the place du Monastère. For wheelchair users, entry is by the gate at number 164 or the one on boulevard de Cimiez and then across the villa's south esplanade.