Sights in Mougins — 6 of Our Favourites

The museum's large and diverse collection of antiquities includes Roman, Greek and Egyptian sculpture, vases, coins and jewellery and also the world's largest private collection of ancient arms and armour.

These ancient artefacts are cleverly combined with a hundred classically inspired paintings, drawings, and sculptures by artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Dufy, Cézanne, Rodin, Dali, Andy Warhol, Marc Quinn, Antony Gormley, and Damien Hirst.

Christian Levett, a British investment manager with a passion for ancient art founded the museum in 2008, when he decided to display his collection in Mougins, where he has a family home.

Created in 1986 thanks to the donation of the famous photographer André Villers, this museum shows photographs as well as old cameras and photography material. Especially interesting are the portraits of Picasso made by some of the best photographers of the time, including Robert Doisneau, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, David Douglas Duncan or the same André Villers who met the Spanish painter in 1953.

There are also temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

Open from February to December, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-12:30 and 14:00-18:00 (closes at 19:00 from June 15th to September 15th).

Bonnard was a founding member of the post-impressionist group Les Nabis, together with Edouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis. His works are built with bright colours that create poetic symbols based on his own personal imagery. 

The museum itself is a large complex developed around the original Belle Epoque mansion, with gardens, terraces, exhibition spaces, educational spaces and a gift shop. It has a permanent collection of Bonnard paintings, as well as changing exhibitions.

They host regular events and activities including drawing and painting workshops.

Open from 10:00 to 19:00. In July and August, they close at 20:00. Closed on Mondays.

Housed in the grounds of a 16th-century castle, this is a wonderful collection of contemporary art. Since opening in 1990, the gallery now has over 550 works on display.

Founded by collectors Gottfried Honegger and Sybil Albers, they continue to this day to regularly enrich the collection through the acquisition of works in the tradition of l'art concret. These new pieces will be donated to the French state but housed and managed by L'Espace de l'Art Concret. Since 2004, some thirty works have been filed.

As well as being known for its amazing vegetation, there are also over 70 bird species. It is a great place for a walk, a picnic, some cycling, or just lying around on the grass.

The pond was in peril. In 1992, Fontmerle pond was dying, invaded by phragmites, the common reed. The water surface was reduced to 3%. Rehabilitation works led to restoring almost half the 5 hectares. Phragmites still cover a large area where birds nest. Now, the lotuses still bloom and birds can thrive and reproduce. In the future, it will be important to maintain the right balance between water, phragmites and lotus to protect the ecosystem. Observation points and a bridge were built to help visitors see, hear and discover the wonderful world of this pond.

This is a great place to come and enjoy nature in a safe and welcoming environment, with good access and pathways to make it accessible to all. There are two running circuits, one of 3km and one of 6km, plus a fitness trail built over 1.4km. With plenty of additional walking and hiking paths so that you don't bump into runners, you can also stay clear of horse riders who have a separate 8km of trails to themselves.

The Fontmerle lake has a birdwatching observatory, a pond with different varieties of fish and gorgeous lotus flowers which bloom on its surface every August. The river Valmasque also flows through the park before reaching the river Brague which runs into Biot.

A great place for a family day out there are nearly 300 picnic tables and benches, as well as numerous playgrounds.