Musée des Beaux-Arts

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Lonely Planet review

Find Nice's Musée des Beaux-Arts in a fantastic cream-and-apricot villa built in 1878 for Ukrainian princess Elisabeth Vassilievna Kotschoubey. Its decorative stucco friezes and six-column rear terrace overlooking luxuriant gardens make it typical of Nice's belle époque .The collection is a mishmash of absolute gems, like Jan Brueghel's Allegory of Water and Allegory of Earth, and yawnsome 18th-century portraits.

Fauvist appreciators will relish a roomful of Raoul Dufy's works. Also impressive are sculptures by Rodin, and some late impressionist pieces by Bonnard, Monet and Sisley. Local lads Jules Chéret (1836-1932), the 'Father of the Poster', and Alexis Mossa (1844-1926), who painted truly hideous symbolist works, also feature. The latter is more famous for adding wildly decorated floats to the Nice Carnival than for his watercolours.From the bus station, take bus 38 to the Musée Chéret stop outside.