La Maison et Musee de Pierre Auguste Renoir, Cagnes-Sur-Mer

Cagnes-Sur-Mer is a two-for-one deal, Chateau Grimaldi and the last home of Pierre Auguste Renoir are only five minutes away from each other.

In the ‘banlieue’ (suburb for you Anglophones) known as Les Collettes, which Renoir himself developed, lies a beautiful home where Renoir lived out his final years (1907-1919) with his wife (Aline) and three sons (Jean, Pierre, and Claude). During this time, he painted some of his most famous pieces and developed his talents as a sculptor.

I missed the statue in the backyard, but didn't want that to mean you had to miss out too.....

Here is a view of the front of Renoir’s house. The home isn’t particularly ornate, but it is gracious and of a comfortable scale. The large windows on the right hand side of the upper level is the room that Renoir used as a studio. Renoir also hosted many young talents for periods of time in his home, their bedrooms were located on the lower floor. The upper floor bedrooms were for the family. There was only one bathroom!!! (on the inside of the house, at least…..)

The Front of Renoir's home in the neighborhood of Les Collettes in Canges-Sur-Mer

Personally, I prefer the house from the back. I love the terraces and you get a sense that the house lent itself to entertaining guests on the ground floor. Renoir was a good husband, he gave his wife, Aline, the room on the upper level in the far corner with french doors that opens up to a personal terrace with a gorgeous sea view.

View of the back of Renior's home, the house has beautifully landscaped acreage and a sea view

Strolling around the gardens, there are small posts which display recreations of Renoir’s works where he might have been set up while painting the landscape. For example,  below is the path, trees, and carriage house from a painting.

A reproduction of a painting by Renoir and the inspiration, his carriage house

Here is a close up of the carriage house.

Better view of the carriage house

Here I am, sitting in Renoir’s backyard (no big deal…)! It was lovely, tranquil, and cool in the shade of the beautiful trees.

Me in Renoir's backyard (hard to see, but the Chateau Grimaldi is next to my left temple, on the hillside)

Last but not least, I wanted to share a picture of the trees surrounding the house. To me, I feel the trees (including leaves, trunk, and roots) evoke motion and you can see that realized in the palate, brushstrokes, and style in which Renoir painted.

des arbres du jardin Renoir

Exploring the house and gardens provided fantastic insight into the life of Renoir, a French Impressionist painter. I’m really glad I made the effort to see this site, despite it not necessarily being one of the major attractions in the area. Similar to the Chateau Grimaldi, le musee Renoir was only a few euros to enter and there was free parking, so a good stop for a budget-conscience traveller. All in all, it was a productive day of sight-seeing and luckily I didn’t have any major hiccups (had to retrace my steps a few times in the car, but I survived!). By the way, can you tell I’m starting to master the art of uploading pictures?? 🙂

Château Grimaldi, Cagnes-Sur-Mer

I wish my last name was Grimaldi!

The Grimaldi family is very famous in this region, they are the current royal family of Monaco and have a well documented history dating back to the 1100s. The Grimaldi gang were successful maritime merchants and developed a great empire throughout the Mediterranean, which of course, continues to present day. In the earlier stages of their dynasty, in 1309 to be exact, one of the Grimaldis, Rainier, built a castle on top of a fortress, formerly used by the Greeks and then Romans, in the medieval town of Cagnes-Sur-Mer (now quite a developed, large town about 20 minutes west of Nice).

Given the château’s historical value and in an effort to learn more about the history of the region, I went to check it out. At first, the most striking element is the medieval town. The road became extremely narrow, cobble-stoned, and bordered by rows of adorable medieval townhouses (for lack of the proper name for a house dating back to the Dark Ages). I was also amazed by the parking garage; it was like a giant vending machine for cars. You roll the car onto a belt (like at the car wash or the body shop) and a giant machine takes over, putting the car in a special elevator and moving it vertically to space nested in a structure similar to an pentagon-shaped vending machine. It was truly amazing to watch the car being placed into a spot on the TV monitor in the drop-off/pick-up waiting room. But anyways, back to the historical stuff…..

The old castle was really just that, a big building that seemed really old. Today, the castles hosts a variety of art exhibits (which were kind of weird, but showcased local talent) and has a wonderful panoramic viewpoint on the top.

Entrance to Museum in Chateau Grimaldi

As mentioned earlier, I was most impressed by the medieval town. It felt as though I had just stepped back in time. It was an amazing maze of narrow streets and alleys with homes still occupied. Another attractive aspect of this particular village is the stunning view, you can see as far east as St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat and as far west as Antibes and it is on a hill-top, so there is a constant breeze mitigating the hot weather.

View from the top of Chateau Grimaldi facing west to Antibes

Altogether, la vielle ville de Cagnes-Sur-Mer is a charming spot. I had a lovely tomato and mozzarella salad for lunch in the plaza (at a table with a gorgeous view of the Provencal Alps) while waiting for the museum to reopen at 2 pm. This tourist spot is a great place to visit because it is easy on the pocket, offers an exceptional view of the Cote d’Azur, and provides the ideal backdrop for imagining what it was like to live in a medieval town.

Medieval alleyway, Cagnes-Sur-Mer