Art

The area has worldclass art experiences to check-out:

Maeght Foundation – St Paul de Vence – my favorite museum ever. Usually an interesting installation from a top artists plus selections of their amazing collection plus the wonderful Miro sculpture and fountain garden. Don’t miss this place.

Matisse Chapel – Vence – just 5km down the road toward Vence from the house is this masterful jewel of a chapel fully designed by Matisse as an appreciation for his care while convalescing in Vence. Stunning expression of light and design. Check hours.

Chagall Museum – Nice – epic scale old testament paintings in a spacious gallery. See dozens of works from Chagall at the height of his artistic capabilities.

Picasso War and Peace Chapel – Vallauris – another spectacular gem created by a master in appreciation for time in the area. A small space telling the anguish of war and the wonder of peace. A bit hard to find, but worth discovering. There is another Picasso museum in Antibes, so don’t confuse them.

Others to consider – Picasso Museum – Antibes, Leger Museum – Biot. Modern Art Museum in Nice (MAMAC) can have interesting exhibitions, but also some are just odd- so check what’s on before you set forth.

Dining

There are many good restaurants in the area and a few exceptional ones. Service and food can vary a lot depending on how busy the restaurants are though, so be cautious if the place looks overrun when you get there.

St Jeannet – in the village you can walk over and find good French bistro fare at the St Barbe just at the front of the village. They also have live music on the weekends (which you can usually hear at the house). The Table of Baous is up near the ancient Laundry washing area. There is also a good pizza option at the centre of the village as well as a Thai.

Peyron – This area down the hill sprawlilng off the roundabout has a a few options including a Thai and hotel Avocado. Further down the road just beyond La Gaude is restaurant Longo Mai .

Fenocchio Ice Cream – legendary sorbet from the top shop in Nice is close by on the La Gaude road near the former IBM campus. Not as many flavors as down in Nice, but we always buy more than we expected to!

Vence has a lot of options and is also a lovely area to wander around through the Roman village and art galleries. It can get really crowded and then sometimes the service suffers. We had a fine dining experience at Comme Chez Soi which was a wonderful surprise admidst the bustling Vence evening scene on Saturday. It’s a small place, so best to book ahead. La Ferigoule offers excellent food in a charming surrounding.

Nice has a lot of typical wood-over fare. We drift into the Marche a Fleur and head over to Le Safari which is usually crowded, but good. The best restaurant is the original Petit Maison. You can also eat at the beach clubs down at the sea, but the view is typically more interesting than the food. If you are driving, try to park at the old city in this relatively new and super modern parking lot Sulzer which is just opposite the giant clothes pin sculpture.

Hotels

There are many place to stay in the areas which you can search for in the usual outlets. You will find small hotels in St Jeannet, La Guade and Vence which are usually good.

Nearby is the simple, friendly enough Hotel Avocado at the bottom of the climb up to the village. In Vence a very nice Hotel is the Villa Roseriae. There is the lux Chateau St Martin above Vence.

Local Wine and Markets

Bio is a main focus for many of the local producers in the area. It’s great if you can support their efforts and many of them offer direct shopping on site.

Wine – there are 2 great bio vineyards within 500m of the house. When you come up from the Peyron just keep going straight at the hairpin turn and you will seem both of them on the right hand side. The first one you will encounter is Vignoble Rasse and further down the road is Domain de Haute Coline. Both offer tastings and have on occasion special dinners. Try to book the tastings in advance especially if you want them in English. You might also see drawings and paintings from our great friend artist Remy Rasse at the vineyards. Don’t be shy to ask and even purchase one to take home! We have a few of his pieces hanging up inside the house.

About 30 minutes away on the outskirts of Nice is Chateau Bellet. And of course there are many more – we can recommend a wine tour near St Tropez to visit domaines like Domaine Ott, Chateau Leveque and Chateau Pamplonne. Or you can also visit the local wine shop L’Ecrit Vin down at the Peyron and they can give you even more ideas.

Local Produce Markets – If you want really direct from the farm then visit the farm Boijout Pierre bio just beyond the vineyards on the left hand side of the road. It doesn’t look correctly marked on Google map. It’s on the uphill chemin turning off the road. He is open on Wednesday mornings and Saturday afternoons. You will also find local produce near the bakery on Wednesdays and Saturdays usually. The bigger open market is in Vence, but largely the produce is the same. Another spot to find local, artisanal products like jams and olive oils is at the Gamme Vert at the bottom of the road up to Vence.

Activities

Of course the Baous beckon you to reach their tops. But there are many other things to do in the area and a few hours drive opens up more possibilities than you will have time for, even in you stay for months.

Tennis at the orange clay courts in Vence Tennis Club is wonderful (if a bit messy on your tennis whites). They also now have Paddle Courts.

Hike the St Jeannet Baou. Check out my post on details. Beyond the Baou there are more trails that you can hike through for hours.

Swim down in Cagnes Sur Mer. Park near the clock tower. You have many good beach club options, but also the public beach is nice and not too crowded with showers. It’s the nearest, nicest beach area.

Cycle the Col de Vence. It’s about 10km to the start of the 10km climb It’s a hardcore and epic journey. You can extend the ride out through Coursegoules, Bezadun-les-Alpes, Bouyon, Le Broc, Carros and Gattieres to make a leg busting 60km loop to the house. This is cycling heaven. Some spots to rent cycles – Stars and Bikes in Cagnes Sur Mer, Roule Libre in Nice which also has electric bikes.

Walking around medieval villages – there are 3 immediate choices – St Jeannet, Vence, St Paul de Vence. You might also explore a bit further out to Cagnes sur Mer (nice castle in the centre to visit), Tourrettes sur Loup (great view if you pass the village and stop to look back- also sometimes local clay craftsman), Gourdon (one of the highest) or Eze (overlooking the sea with nice cactus garen on top). Visiting the Old Nice near the Marche aux Fleur and climbing up the rock to the citadel area is also great.