Matisse Museum & Cimiez

Musée Matisse (Cimiez)

Matisse's Nice years in a red villa among olive trees

⚠ Closed until 20 Oct

Hours

Closed Tuesdays. Apr–Oct 10am–6pm, Nov–Mar 10am–5pm (ticket desk closes 30 min earlier). Closed 1 Jan, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 Dec, and 29 Sept–20 Oct 2026 for an exhibition changeover

Tickets

€10. Pass Musées de Nice 4-day €15 (covers city museums); free for under-18s and students with ID, and with the French Riviera Pass. Cards and cash accepted (official site)

Address

164 Avenue des Arènes de Cimiez, inside the olive-grove park on Cimiez hill

Matisse spent the last three decades or so of his life in Nice and is buried on this hill. The museum is a 17th-century red villa standing in an old olive grove, its painted trompe-l'oeil window frames photo-worthy before you even get inside. The collection runs from early oils to the late paper cut-outs, plus sketches and studies for the Rosary Chapel in Vence. Next door are the remains of a Roman amphitheatre and the gardens of Cimiez monastery, so a museum visit turns into an afternoon on the hill. It isn't big; an hour and a half is plenty.