Mougins

Understand

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.

Get around

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!

See

thumb|Musée d'Art Classique à Mougins at night

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 military-themed artworks. Entrance is €12, with reduced rates for children, families, senior citizens aged at least 60 years, disabled visitors, students,…

Do

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.

Buy

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.

thumb|Christmas in 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.

Eat

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

thumb|the Vieux Village: picturesque and cosy in the winter

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. . 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…

Sleep

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

Go next

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.