Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a fortified village in the hills behind Nice, ringed by ramparts raised in the sixteenth century under François I. Its Rue Grande crosses the village from one gate to the other in a few minutes, and the cemetery at the far end is where Marc Chagall is buried.

The village owes its singularity to a century of painters. La Colombe d’Or built its collection by accepting canvases in payment for meals, and the Maeght foundation, opened in 1964 on the neighbouring hill, was conceived with the artists themselves: a Giacometti courtyard, a Miró labyrinth, mosaics and stained glass built into Josep Lluís Sert’s architecture. Ten minutes away, in Vence, the Chapelle du Rosaire was designed entirely by Matisse.