10 Hidden Art Hideaways In The South Of France Nobody Talks About
I love the French Riviera. I really do. But every time I go back, I notice the same thing.
Everyone is fighting over the same three beach clubs in Saint-Tropez.
Meanwhile, some of the most extraordinary art in Europe is sitting quietly in the hills above them, and almost nobody bothers to go.
I’m not talking about the Louvre. I’m talking about private estates, converted sawmills, and one house with a very messy love triangle built into its walls.
Here are 10 of them.
Villa E-1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
This house sits above the sea in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
Architect Eileen Gray built it in 1929 as a gift for her lover, fellow architect Jean Badovici.
Their relationship ended shortly after the house was finished.
The property eventually passed to Gray’s design rival, Le Corbusier, who painted colorful murals directly onto her minimalist walls. She was reportedly furious about it.
He liked the spot so much he built his own tiny cabin right next door.
The house sat abandoned for decades and was even occupied by squatters at one point.
It took more than 20 years of restoration before it finally reopened to the public.
La Pausa, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Up in the hills above Menton sits La Pausa, Chanel’s own home.
Architect Peter Marino recently restored it, and the fashion house now uses it as a working creative retreat for writers and artists.
Jean Cocteau was a frequent guest here, though he never left any art behind at this particular house.
He saved that for the place next door.
Villa Santo Sospir, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
A short drive away in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is Villa Santo Sospir, once owned by art patron Francine Weisweiller.
Cocteau covered the walls and ceilings in frescoes, made mosaics for the patio, and filmed scenes from his 1960 movie there.
He called it “tattooing” the house.
It’s available for short-term rental and occasional visits by appointment.
Chapelle Saint-Pierre, Villefranche-sur-Mer
Cocteau also decorated the Chapelle Saint-Pierre in Villefranche-sur-Mer.
He covered the walls and ceilings with his own mythological murals.
Then he personally chose the leopard print carpeting.
Couples still get married here, and the chapel opens to visitors whenever it’s not being used for a wedding.
Venet Foundation, Le Muy
French sculptor Bernar Venet moved to an old sawmill near Le Muy back in 1989, looking for open space after years in New York.
There, his circle of friends included Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, and Frank Stella.
Today his 17-acre property includes a James Turrell Skyspace that opens for stargazing one night a week.
There’s also a Frank Stella chapel filled with massive steel and aluminum sculptures, and a concrete staircase to nowhere by Sol LeWitt.
This summer he’s showing Dan Flavin’s fluorescent light works alongside his own.
Villa Carmignac, Île de Porquerolles
Villa Carmignac sits on Île de Porquerolles, a small island off the coast near Hyères.
Financier Édouard Carmignac opened it in 2018 on 37 acres, with 21,000 square feet of exhibition space inside a former farmhouse.
To get there, you take a ferry from the Giens Peninsula, then walk about 15 minutes from the marina.
This summer’s show, “Sea, Pop & Sun,” pairs 1960s and ’70s Pop art with contemporary artists like Judy Chicago.
Outside in the gardens, four enormous glowering heads by Ugo Rondinone loom over the property.
Château La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade
Perched above Aix-en-Provence, this estate has pavilions designed by Renzo Piano, Tadao Ando, and Jean Nouvel.
There are six restaurants, two hotels, and a working winery on site.
Irish hotelier Paddy McKillen and his sister bought the property in 2002 and built an exhibition calendar that now rivals major museums in Paris or London.
A Louise Bourgeois spider sculpture towers over one corner of the grounds.
This summer brings a Julian Schnabel retrospective that runs through mid-August.
LUMA Arles, Arles
In Arles, philanthropist Maja Hoffmann spent more than a decade turning an abandoned rail yard into a full cultural campus.
The centerpiece is a mirrored tower designed by Frank Gehry.
Old train depots were converted into galleries and performance spaces.
Hoffmann, an heir to the Hoffmann-La Roche pharmaceutical fortune, didn’t stop at the campus. She now owns four art-filled hotels in Arles, plus the region’s top restaurant and an artisanal bakery.
This summer brings a Gerhard Richter exhibition and performances by Patti Smith.
La Ribaute, Barjac
Outside the medieval village of Barjac, German artist Anselm Kiefer has spent more than three decades transforming the land around an old silk mill.
He built hills, lakes, tunnels, and caves by hand.
Towering structures made from recycled shipping containers rise up across the 200 acres.
The estate, called La Ribaute, only opened to visitors four years ago.
Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Up in the hills of Saint-Paul-de-Vence sits the place that started all of this.
Art dealers Aimé and Marguerite Maeght opened it in 1964, inspired by the Guggenheim in New York.
It was the first private art institution in France.
The sculpture garden holds work by Calder, Miró, and Giacometti.
Two years ago, it added another 5,000 square feet of gallery space, and it’s still pulling in crowds six decades later.