For 4 euros (2 for students!), you won’t find a better value in a museum. The Matisse museum is set up in the hills of Nice and offers not only many fantastic works by the artist but a great view of the city too.

Matisse himself donated some of the work found in the museum, as he spent his last years in Nice. There are several hundred objects total, many of them paintings and sculptures, but there are also drawings and photos. The works here span Matisse’s entire life, and a large portion of them are chronologically arranged. Prior to visiting the museum, I was not a huge fan of Matisse, so I cannot say which of the works is his most famous, but all of them are quite stunning!

The building itself is also a work of art. The building is set on a beautiful villa, and the red exterior attracted my eye immediately. Inside, the Matisse museum is bright and airy, with hardwood floors throughout, and several open levels to explore. The gift shop is located on the lower level, away from any of his work, so it does not detract from the atmosphere a bit.

The museum is open every day except Tuesdays–-hours are 10am to 6pm. From central Nice, it is a 20- to 30-minute walk, but it is mostly uphill. Taking the bus is an easy option. For more information, head to the Matisse Museum website for collection information.

The museum is open from 10am to 6pm, April to September (otherwise to 5pm). The exhibition was way to small, the staff was rude and the whole thing was over before it began. Now I can at least say that I have been there, but that’s also pretty much all it gave me. And while you might think that I know nothing whatsoever about art, and be right in that assumption, I brought my mom along, who is really genuinely interested and she was also very disappointed. Too bad! Well, if you are super hooked on Matisse, maybe, just maybe this is something for you. Otherwise, see the parks and the buildings, have a cup of coffee up there, but don’t bother with the museum. At least the house, the olive trees and the ruins are beautiful. This is where the famous Nice Jazz festival is held every year, something I will get back to.

By the way, once you leave the park and head for the bus station, look west in the first intersection. In the monstrous white apartment building just on the other side of the road is where Queen Victoria used to live for a short stint and dabble in painting (told to us by a French English teacher with tons of lipstick on her teeth) just so you know!

If you love Matisse, you have to visit this museum. To get to the museum you have to get to the Cimiez, the area of Nice that is famous as the place of the ancient ruins that date back to the Roman times. The museum itself is located in a building that was built in 17th century and used to be a Genoese villa. We parked near the church with Gothic features and walked through the park to the museum. The entrance is through the new wing that is a recent addition, if you are facing the museum the entrance is to the right down the stairs. The museum has a large collection of Matisse's paintings. This is probably the only place where you can see the whole "Jazz" series. Unfortunately the paintings are behind the glass and taking pictures is not allowed. But if you want to have a memory, go to the lower level book store. They have a huge number of books on art including the "Jazz" published in New York (weird!). The villa has 2 floors that exhibit permanent collection from the period when Matisse lived in Nice (1917-1954). Here you can find some of the most well known paintings of his. Part of the collection if from heirs. One of the halls has several of the famous carpets with blue birds, sea life. I saw another one in Centre Pompidou in Paris, and yet another one is in National Gallery in Washington, DC. You can also see Matisse's sculptures which are pretty rare.