What to see and do in Mougins French Riviera

Perched high above the glittering coastline of the French Riviera, Mougins is a sun-kissed hilltop village crowned with terracotta roofs and narrow streets adorned with flowers and lined with galleries and restaurants. Artists, writers, chefs and dreamers have all fallen for Mougins – discover what to see and do in this little corner of paradise.

Mougins may only be 6km from cosmopolitan Cannes, the city of the glamorous film festival, iconic boulevard the Croisette where people promenade to see and be seen, and beaches packed with sun-bathers – but it’s a whole world away from the razzle dazzle of its famous neighbour.

What to see and do in Mougins – A feast for the senses

It was the light, beauty and tranquillity that first attracted artists to Mougins. Pablo Picasso spent the last 12 years of his life nearby in a chateau, Mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie, which he bought from the Guinness family as a wedding present for his future wife Jacqueline. He died in Mougins in 1973, sealing the village’s place in art history. The tourist office (their building was Picasso’s studio!) offers a guided tour of Mougins following in Picasso’s footsteps (English and French) including a visit to the artist’s bedroom in the former Hotel Vaste Horizon where there are photos by Dora Maar, Picasso’s muse and lover, and Man Ray.

The list of creatives who flocked to Mougins is long, from Jean Cocteau, Charlie Chaplin and Christian Dior to Winston Churchill and the Rolling Stones. Ever since, Mougins has been a magnet for artists, with some 30 art galleries and studios in a village of just 150 inhabitants.

Small it may be, but Mougins has big art credentials including the Mougins Art Centre, Mougins Photography Centre, the Old Wash House which hosts temporary art exhibitions, and FAMM, Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins – the first major museum dedicated to women artists in Europe. It hosts a fascinating exhibition of paintings, sculptures and photographs, ranging from 19th century artists like Berthe Morisot and Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, daughter-in-law and student of Claude Monet to Frida Kahlo, Tracy Emin, Barbara Hepworth and top emerging artists.

The town’s spiral layout was designed for defence, but today the labyrinth of picturesque cobblestoned streets lined with honey-coloured medieval buildings, hung with bright bougainvillea and scented jasmine, and dotte with little squares edged with cafés shaded by plane trees, is perfect for wandering.

Mougins is at its most magical in the morning light or at dusk as the sun begins to slide down behind the hills. Wander the old village, pop into galleries, and don’t rush lunch – this is a place to soak up the atmosphere, people watch and simply feel the moment. Play pétanque on the lovely Place des Patriotes with a panoramic view – pop into the tourist office and they’ll lend you their boules for free! Climb the bell tower of the Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur church, to get a bird’s eye view over the Bay of Cannes and the Lérins Islands.

If art is the soul of Mougins, its heart is gastronomy. The village is known as one of the gastronomic capitals of the French Riviera — and it takes food seriously. It’s the only town in France to be awarded the “Ville et Métier d’Art” label for gastronomy!

Each September, Mougins hosts Les Étoiles de Mougins, one of France’s most celebrated gastronomic festivals. For several days, the village becomes an open-air kitchen with tastings, workshops and demonstrations by top chefs from across France and beyond. If you plan to come at this time, book well ahead. The secret is very much out.

Relaxed bistros serve Provençal classics where everything revolves around the ingredients: olive oil, sun-warmed tomatoes, herbs that smell as though they were picked five minutes ago, fish brought up from the coast below.

Lunches stretch. Rosé is chilled. Meals feel like the point of the day rather than a pause in it – art de vivre, the art of living well is a way of life here.

I loved La Reserve, a secret bar in a luxury resort right in the centre of the village. You don’t need to be resident to enjoy a coffee during the day or an aperitif on their terrace with jaw dropping views over the countryside.

As evening falls, the village grows quieter and the hills around fade to dusky blue. Mougins is timeless, enchanting and likely to steal a piece of your heart – it certainly did mine.

Info symbol mouginstourisme.com; cotedzurfrance.com

Janine Marsh is an author and Editor of The Good Life France magazine and website.

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