Mougins

Located on the heights of Cannes in the district of Grasse, and surrounded by forests and woodlands, Mougins is around a 15-minute drive from Cannes and a 30-minute drive from Nice (traffic permitting). At the heart of Mougins is the picturesque Vieux Village (old village), which due to its hilltop location has stunning views over Cannes, Grasse, the Valmasque forest, the Esterel Massif and the Préalpes. Mougins has an international reputation for its gourmet cuisine and for its links with the art world. It has been frequented and inhabited by many famous people, including Fernand Léger, Jean Cocteau, Yves Saint Laurent, Winston Churchill, Édith Piaf, Catherine Deneuve and Pablo Picasso, who spent the last 12 years of his life there. Due to its proximity to Cannes, Mougins is often the destination of choice for celebrities during the Cannes Film Festival.

• Stroll around the tiny winding streets in the Vieux Village in traffic-free bliss.
• Taxis: for details of local taxis go to http://www.mougins.fr/tourisme/.
• Cycling is very popular in the area, although the hills are not for the faint-hearted!

• Mougins Museum of Classical Art (Musée D’Art Classique A Mougins): as you enter the Vieux Village you will find, on the left, the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, which opened in June 2011. The museum, of which the essential concept is the dynamic between the classical past and the present, houses a world class, permanent collection of both ancient and modern art. Roman, Greek and Egyptian antiquities – which include marble and bronze sculpture, vases, coins, jewellery, and glass – are interspersed with classically inspired modern and contemporary works by artists and sculptors including Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Edgar Degas, Henry Moore, Raoul Dufy, Salvador Dali, Giorgio de Chirico, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray, Damien Hirst, the British sculptors Marc Quinn and Anthony Gormley, and of course, Pablo Picasso, who spent the last 12 years of his life here. There is also a collection of Renaissance and Neo-classical paintings, including two by Sir Peter Paul Rubens. In displaying the ancient and modern side by side, this state-of-the-art museum enables visitors to explore the deep and sometimes unexpected connection between modern art and the classical past. The museum also houses the world’s largest private collection of ancient armour, displayed against a backdrop of militiary-themed artworks. Entrance is €12, with reduced rates for children, families, senior citizens aged at least 60 years, disabled visitors, students, scholars and groups. Annual membership packages are also available. The museum is open Apd-Oct daily from 09:30 to 20:30. From November to March it is open Tu-Su from 09:30 to 19;00, and closed on Mondays ☏ +33 4 93 75 18 65.

• Espace Culturel & Musée Gottlob: the espace culturel, located in Place du Commandant Lamy, puts on exhibitions, concerts and a full range of arts events throughout the year (except November). It is also the location of the permanent exhibition of the work of the artist Maurice Gottlob. Open Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 and at weekends from 11:00. Free entrance.
• Musée De la Photographie André Villers: this small museum is also located in the Vieux Village, next to Porte Sarrazine (the Saracen Gate), one of the last remains of the village’s medieval past. It contains a permanent exhibition of portraits of Pablo Picasso as shot by major contemporary photographers, and also holds temporary exhibitions throughout the year. Open daily from 10:00 to 20:00 from July to September, and for the rest of the year from 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and from 11.00 18.00 at weekends. Free entrance.
• Le Musée d'Histoire Locale: the Vieux Village also has a small local history museum, which is open daily from June to September, and for the rest of the year at weekends and on public holidays, from 11:00 to 18:00. Free entrance.
• Le Lavoir: the village’s old washhouse is now a lovely exhibition space which promotes the work of local artists and sculptors. Open every day from March to October from 11:00 to 18:00. Free entrance.
• The Fontmerle Pond (L’Étang de Fontmerle) is a spectacular five-hectare pond on the edge of the Valmasque Park. The Fontmerle has the largest colony of lotus flowers in Europe. The lotus (not to be confused with the water lily) blooms from July to September, with the blossoms reaching 25 cm in diameter, and the leaves up to 1 m. The pond also has over sixty species of water birds and migrating birds. Notre-Dame-de-Vie, the 12th-century chapel, and Picasso's villa (which you can view from the outside, but is not open to the public), are very close to the pond, and all are best accessed by car or bicycle.

• L'Esterel Massif: visit the breathtaking, red-tinted volcanic coastal mountain range near Cannes, where you can hike or follow the mountain bike trails in the surrounding oak forests, which are protected as a nature reserve.
• The Valmasque Park and the other forests and woodlands surrounding Mougins are great for hiking and mountain biking, and there are a number of local horse-riding schools.
• Golf: if this is your sport, Mougins has two 18-hole courses: the Golf Country Club de Cannes Mougins and the Royal Mougins Golf Club.

Les Etoiles de Mougins: Festival International de la Gastronomie et des Arts de Vivre: in September the Vieux Village hosts an annual international gastronomic festival, which takes place over three days and includes a prestigious young chef competition.

• Cookery classes: L’Amandier and Le Mas Candille restaurants run cookery classes with the Chef.

• Local art: explore the many art galleries which are both in the main square and tucked away in the picturesque back streets of the Vieux Village.

• Christmas Market: the village is worth visiting in December for the Christmas market, where local artisans exhibit and sell their wares over three days, and for the beautiful nativity scene which is put on every year at Le Lavoir.

With its international reputation for gourmet cuisine, both the Vieux Village and the wider area of Mougins have many excellent restaurants.

• La Place de Mougins: previously known as Le Feu Follet, and a favourite of Picasso’s, La Place de Mougins, situated in the heart of the Vieux Village at 41 Place du Commandant Lamy, opened in 2010 and offers French haut cuisine in elegant surroundings. Denis Fetisson, its manager and head chef, won the Jacquart Trophy for the Rising Star in Gastronomy in 2006, and was head chef at Michelin two starred restaurant Le Cheval Blanc, in Courchevel. À la carte and menus ranging from €25 for a two-course lunch to €65 for the eight course gourmand menu, and there is a monthly dégustation menu, featuring seasonal produce, at €45. Closed on Sunday evenings and all day Monday. ☏ +33 4 93 90 15 78.
• La Place also has a boulangerie, open from 08:30 to 17:00 to Sunday, which sells bread, croissants, tarts and cakes, all baked on the premises.
• L’Amandier de Mougins: L’Amandier, which is on the left as you enter the Vieux Village, just past the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, is a long established restaurant which has been completely refurbished. It has two terraces for outdoor dining and views to die for, especially at sunset. Fetisson also manages L’Amandier, which specialises in Cuisine Nicoise, following in the tradition of Roger Vergé, who opened the restaurant – his second in Mougins – in 1969. À la carte and menus ranging from €18 for a two-course weekday lunch to €34 for the evening menu. Closed on Wednesdays. ☏ +33 4 93 90 00 91. http://www.amandier.fr.
• Le Moulin de Mougins: this world-famous hotel and restaurant, an exquisitely converted 16th-century oil mill on the Avenue Notre Dame de Vie, was where master chef Roger Vergé created his Cuisine De Soleil over forty years ago. In accordance with Michelin rules, the restaurant lost its two stars when renouned chef Allain Llorca moved on in 2009. However, Sebastien Chambru, who replaced him, has been awarded his first star. À la carte and menus ranging from €39 for the business lunch to €180 for the menu carte blanche au chef. Closed on Mondays. ☏ +33 4 93 75 78 24.
• Restaurant Candille: the restaurant at tranquil five star hotel Le Mas Candille, just a short walk down the hill from the village, has one Michelin star. The chef célèbre is Serge Gouloumes, whose signature dishes incorporate exotic flavours within his Italian and Provençal based cooking. À la carte and menus from €80. Closed on Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes. ☏ +33 4 92 28 43 43.
• Le Bistrot de Mougins, at 93 Place du Commandant Lamy, is another charming, long established restaurant in the Vieux Village, serving traditional French cuisine. With its vaulted ceiling it is especially cosy in the winter. À la carte, menu tradition at €35 and menu gourmand at €49. Closed on Wednesdays and Saturday lunchtime. ☏ +33 4 93 75 78 34.
• Le Fontenoy: run by the delightful Thierry and Fatima, Le Fontenoy is the place to go for something light. Have a coffee or a glass of wine, and a light meal such as quiche, croque monsieur or salad. The café is also in Place du Commandant Lamy and overlooks the lovely fountain.

• La Cave de Mougins (at the entrance to the Vieux Village and just before the Mougins Museum of Classical Art), ☏ +33 4 92 28 06 11. La Cave is a sophisticated wine cellar and wine bar. Over 1,000 French wines, including many vintage labels, are stocked in the 17th-century, vaulted, temperature-controlled cellar, at prices across all ranges. The engaging proprietor, Sébastien Fouet, who is passionate about wine, holds frequent dégustations, which can be arranged by appointment. The wine bar, a lovely decked arbour with intertwined wisteria and vines, also serves tapas, tea and cake, and yes, there’s that wonderful view again. 

For a comprehensive list of places to stay, from five-star hotels to campsites, go to the Mougins Office de Tourisme’s website.

Nearby destinations worth a visit are too numerous to mention. Try Valbonne and Antibes for a spot of shopping. Many of the mountain villages, such as Gourdon, Cipières and Tourrettes-Sur-Loup are spectacularly beautiful, with Saint-Paul-de-Vence being the most well-known of the villages perchés in the region.