Musée National Marc Chagall

The Musée National Marc Chagall was created during the artist's lifetime, with the support of the culture minister André Malraux, to house his great cycle of paintings on biblical themes. It opened in 1973 and is one of three national museums in the Alpes-Maritimes, alongside the Fernand Léger and Pablo Picasso museums. It stands at the foot of the Cimiez hill, on the corner of Boulevard de Cimiez, a short way up from the city centre.

The heart of the museum is the Biblical Message. A large main room holds twelve big canvases on the books of Genesis and Exodus. A smaller hexagonal room next door holds five compositions inspired by the Song of Songs. Chagall offered the seventeen paintings of the Biblical Message to the French State in 1966, and later added sketches, stained glass and sculpture. The tourism office describes the museum as holding the largest public collection of his work, with more than 400 paintings, gouaches, drawings, washes and pastels in total.

Look out for the blue stained-glass windows Chagall designed for the concert hall and the mosaic he made above the pond. The garden was laid out by Henri Fish following the artist's detailed instructions.

There is a small café on site. Audio guides are available in eight languages including English, and family tours for children aged four to twelve run for about an hour and a half.

The museum is closed on Tuesdays and closes over lunch, from 13:00 to 14:30, with closing time earlier in winter than in summer. Prices rise slightly during temporary exhibitions, and visitors under 18 enter free. Most people spend about an hour here, longer with the audio guide or if a temporary exhibition is on, such as the current Chagall Couture show. The museum is accessible for wheelchair users and buggies, and there is a car park, which is unusual in central Nice.

It is a steady uphill walk from the station area or the centre, and buses also run up Boulevard de Cimiez. Combine it with the Musée Matisse and the Cimiez Monastery further up the hill for a half-day of art and gardens away from the seafront crowds.