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Art & Design Trips to Nice

The French city of Nice has always been a magnet for artists, attracted by its Mediterranean climate, fabulous light, azure blue sea and vibrantly coloured houses. Matisse, Renoir, Arman and Chagall were all inspired by this stretch of the Côte d’Azur making it a perfect destination to take a group of art students.

There is a great mix of old and new in Nice’s galleries and museums.  On the contemporary side there is the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Matisse Museum which houses a huge number of the artist's paintings, drawings and engravings.  By contrast, the Marc Chagall Museum has a large collection of biblically themed fine art paintings.  This combination makes for a balanced and inspiring art school trip. 

Curriculum Topics Key Stage 4 & 5

  • Art, Craft and Design
  • Graphic Communication
  • Textile Design
  • Three Dimensional Design
  • Photography

Prices start from£485pp

Popular itinerary

Morning Afternoon Evening
1 Depart UK airport for flight to Nice Transfer to your accommodation. Take a Guided Walking Tour of Nice and evening meal
2 Visit to Matisse Museum Visit to Marc Chagall Museum Evening meal
3 Visit to Picasso Museum in Antibes Visit to the Renoir Museum Evening meal
4 Visit to Theatre of Photography and Image Transfer to the Airport for return flight Arrive UK and return to school
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
Morning Depart UK airport for flight to Nice
Afternoon Transfer to your accommodation.
Evening Take a Guided Walking Tour of Nice and evening meal
Morning Visit to Matisse Museum
Afternoon Visit to Marc Chagall Museum
Evening Evening meal
Morning Visit to Picasso Museum in Antibes
Afternoon Visit to the Renoir Museum
Evening Evening meal
Morning Visit to Theatre of Photography and Image
Afternoon Transfer to the Airport for return flight
Evening Arrive UK and return to school

Price Shown includes

  • Return Air Travel
  • 3 nights accommodation
  • Return airport transfers
  • Bespoke itinerary planning service
  • Free Place Ratios
  • Live Trip Tracking
  • Online trip organiser & Travel App
  • 24/7 support whilst you are away

Reasons to Visit

Museum Of Modern and Contemporary Art

Right in the heart of the city, this sprawling temple of white marble enshrines a bold and stimulating collection of European and American modern art. Most notably New Realism and Pop Art there is also a collection from the Nice school, with works by Arman, César and Sosno and a stunning room filled with electric blue works by the late Yves Klein.

Fine Arts Museum

Built for a Russian prince, this splendid Genoese-inspired villa houses an unmissable collection of seventeenth to early twentieth-century works of art. Distributed among its palatial rooms are 18th-century greats like Fragonard to some wonderful Impressionist paintings and Rodin's imposing sculpture, The Kiss, which overlooks an ornate marble staircase.

Guided Sightseeing tour of Nice

Experience the sights and sounds of the capital of the French Riviera. A great way to get to know the city at a glance with a professional, experienced, English-speaking guide to give you an insight into the history and culture of the city as well as answer any questions you may have.

Matisse Museum

Just a few steps away from the Hotel Regina, where Matisse lived, this Genoese-style 17th-century villa celebrates Matisse’s life's work. The museum will allow the visitor to discover his mastery of different mediums and techniques and keeps a significant number of the artist's paintings, hundreds of his drawings and engravings, as well as an assortment of his sculptures and illustrated books. Various photographs and artefacts from Matisse's personal collection are also scattered around.

Marc Chagall Museum

Contained within the strict geometry of this bunker-like building is the complete set of biblical paintings by long-time Riviera resident Marc Chagall. Arresting, colourful and otherworldly, these imposing paintings are complemented by the various preparatory sketches made by the artist at the inception of this series, which was designed to transmit, in his own words, 'a certain peace, a certain sense of religion and a sense of life's meaning'.

Theatre of Photography and Image

Life through a lens is displayed in all its forms at this slickly appointed photography gallery. Journalism, fashion, art and experimental photography all get their share of wall space. Temporary exhibition are always well chosen the most famous being the annual 'Septembre de la Photo' exhibition, which usually runs right through to November and spills over into some of the city's other museums and galleries.

Gallery Ponchettes

The history of this 19th-century building is far from arty - it has been somewhat ignominiously used in its time as a public lavoir and a fish market - but its conversion in the 1960s into a municipal art gallery was a stroke of genius. The vaulted interior lends itself very well to the varied mix of (mainly modern) foreign and domestic art that is shown here in an ongoing programme of temporary exhibitions.

Day trip to Antibes


The historic old town within the ramparts has retained much of its original character with quaint cobbled streets, a Provencal market, lots of restaurants and street cafes. The Chateau, bastion and towers have today been transformed into a magnificent Modern Art Museum, History and Archeology Museum and museum of traditional crafts and local culture.
 

Parc du Chateau

This park, on a rocky outcrop above the old town, rewards with a cinematic panorama of Nice, the Baie des Anges and the port. Only the 16th-century Tour Bellanda remains of the 12th-century castle, razed by Louis XIV in 1706. The Cascade Donjon , an 18th-century artificial waterfall with viewing platform is a popular picnic spot. Hike up the steps from the seafront or ride the art deco lift to the top.

Villa Arson

Set in vast parkland, this 18th-century villa is a catch-all centre for contemporary art. There's an art school on site, as well as an exhibition space devoted to cutting-edge work grouped under certain themes. The recent 'Transmission' show, for instance, explored the use of various forms of communication in art, and included some exhibits by Turner Prize-winner Jeremy Deller.

Day trip to St Tropez

St Tropez on the Cote D'Azur was once home to painters and artists who valued the fact that it was the most inaccessible village on the coast. The town attracted the international "jet set" in the 1960s, and remains known for its beaches and nightlife. The cobblestoned La Ponche quarter recalls its past as a fishing village, although yachts now outnumber fishing boats in the Vieux Port.

Renoir Museum

The Renoir Museum is a little gem, inviting a very personal view of the artist, his daily life, and the importance of his family. You can even go into his studio and see his brushes and the colours that were the last on his pallet. This was Auguste Renoir’s family home; he lived the last 12 years of his life on this beautiful estate, and filled it with his sculptures, paintings, furnishings, photographs, and personal effects.

Museum of Naive Art

A splendid pink villa houses this collection of naïve art, bequeathed to the city by the eponymous M Jakovsky. Some 600 paintings, drawings and sculptures trace the history of this artistic movement from the 18th century to the present day.

Picasso Museum (Antibes)

Many of the Picasso works exhibited here were created only a few dozen yards from the place in which they are exhibited today. The museum houses works from other several major 20th-century artistic trends, among them Gleizes, Ernst, Balthus, Brasa.


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Places to Stay

FUAJ Nice - Les Camelias 

This hostel is in the centre of Nice approximately a 13 minute walk from the Promenade des Anglais and the beach area. Close to bar and restaurants and the train station is approximately 5 minutes on foot.

This is only a sample of the options available.  Your Tour Consultant will be able to offer you advice on the best  accommodation to suit your group’s specific needs.


What You Say

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild - Fantastic trip location, helpful staff, beautiful surroundings, space to roam, 100% would recommend. Thistley Hough High School​ 

Thank you for all your help and support in the organisation of our trip to Nice. The trip was brilliantly organised, all the services were great and of very good quality and everything just ran very smoothly...The information pack that you sent through with attached maps was brilliant as well. So all in all a great big thank you. I was very impressed and l would definitely use EST to arrange a future school trip. George Watsons College

The itinerary was well planned and gave ample travel time to reach each place of interest.  It was well balanced and structured. App was good, useful to have rather than printing everything.  Central Foundation Girls School​