NICE 54ºF - 57ºF

Welcome to your Europamundo Trip Style!!! The information about the meeting place and start time of your circuit can be found on your voucher."Why Nice? For this necessary cleanness." Matisse answered this at the place where he spent half of his life attracted by its unique atmosphere. Our trip starts here, in the most Italian of the French cities, cradle of tourism and true starting point to tour the region of light.We will head first north of the city in our vehicle, to the district of Cimiez. We will visit there the Arénes archaeological area, the ancient Amphitheatre and the Roman baths, and the Villa des Arénes stands above them, sumptuous historical building that is home to the Matisse Museum (entrance included). The painter settled in Nice in 1917 and resided there until his death in 1954. We will know the artist in depth through an extensive collection of more than thirty canvases and four hundred drawings and engravings, but also the most intimate Matisse, thanks to a huge number of objects that belonged to his workshop. The ancient Hotel Régina is nearby, now converted into luxurious apartments, built to accommodate Queen Victoria of England according to her demands for comfort in the late XIX century. After the visit, our guide will walk with you to the nearby Cemetery of Cimiez where Matisse´s tomb is located.Afterwards, we head to the city center where our guide will suggest us to try the nizarda cuisine in one of its many restaurants. In the afternoon, we will visit the Marc Chagall National Museum in Nice (entrance included). The Belarusian artist arrived in France in 1950 and spent the last years of his life residing in Vence, a few kilometers from Nice, where he worked on the project "Biblical Message", a series of large canvases that today are in this museum, which also has a complete collection since his beginning. We will continue to know the attractions of the city: Promenade des Anglais seafront, meeting place for locals and foreigners and symbol of the hatching of tourism in the XIX century, Massena Square, old Nice, the port area and Garibaldi Square. Accommodation.

NICE 54ºF - 57ºF - ST. PAUL DE VENCE - CAGNES SUR MER - ANTIBES 66ºF - 68ºF - CANNES 66ºF - 68ºF

We leave Nice, but not the Cote d´Azur and the sea that gives it its name. First of all, we will visit the small town of SAINT PAUL DE VENCE. Painters such as Signac, Dufy, Matisse, Picasso, Braque or Modigliani frequented this typical southern French village. A regular meeting point was the hostel run by art lover Paul Roux: "La Colombe d´Or", where artists often paid with their works, making it today an emblematic hotel-restaurant, which walls are an authentic museum. Together with our guide we will walk through the alleys of the village and we can visit the tomb of Marc Chagall in the local cemetery. From there, we will go in our vehicle to know the nearby Chapel of the Rosary of Vence (entrance included). In this humble Dominican Sisters convent was Sister Jacques Marie (Monique Bourgeois), who had been Matisse´s nurse and assistant in the 1940s, and who asked the painter for advice to decorate the interior and stained-glass windows of the chapel. Matisse, in very adverse health conditions, turned for four years on his latest major project, which he considered his masterpiece. After this exciting visit, we will head to the sanctuary of one of impressionism´s fathers, the Renoir Museum in CAGNES SUR MER (entrance included). In search of mild winters, Renoir settled in this town in 1903 as an artist already consecrated. In 1907 he acquired the villa Domaine des Colletes, where he lived until his death in 1919. This villa-museum is the best way to immerse yourself in Renoir’s creative universe thanks to its collection, but also to the intimate spaces: the workshop, the kitchen, the bathroom and the beautiful garden in which he so often installed his easel. Next, we will head to the nearby town of ANTIBES, a lively seaside place where we will have time to stroll and have lunch. Afterwards, we will visit the Picasso Museum of Antibes - Juan-Les-Pins (entrance included). The museum is housed in a castle that belonged to the Grimaldi family from the XIV century until the French Revolution. Picasso first arrived to this castle in 1945 and admired for its terraces overlooking the sea, he did not hesitate to accept the museum´s offer to set up a workshop in the castle itself. "Here I´m not just going to paint for myself. I´m going to decorate the museum," he said then. Picasso left 23 paintings and 44 drawings. Thanks to subsequent donations, the museum preserves many other works by the author, especially ceramics, as well as other prominent figures of XX-century art. After the visit, we will head to CANNES, where we can tour the historic center and the promenade, home to the Cotê d’Azur glamour and meeting point of the film stars that go at one of the most important film festivals in the world. Accommodation.

CANNES 66ºF - 68ºF - VALLAURIS 64ºF - 66ºF - SAINT JUAN LES PINS - SAINT-TROPEZ 59ºF - 68ºF - MARSEILLE 61ºF - 70ºF

We will leave Cannes to delve into the Spanish genius’ work: the Picasso War and Peace National Museum (entrance included), installed in VALLAURIS, a ceramicist tradition village. Picasso made two large more than 10 meters long canvases representing war and peace, completed in 1952 and installed in a Romanesque chapel that today is home to this National Museum. Later, the artist painted at the bottom of the chapel "The Four Parts of the World" fresco . Then we will set off for one of the most renowned towns on the Cotê d’Azur: SAINT TROPEZ. Ancient fishing village that has not lost its charm over time. We will stroll through the streets of this jewel nestled between the citadel and the port where we will have time for lunch. In the afternoon, we head to MARSEILLE, capital of the Provence-Alps-Cote d´Azur region, second city and largest port in the country. Our guide will help you get to know the Vieux Port, Avenue de la Canebière and the vibrant historic center of the oldest city in France. Accommodation.

AIX EN PROVENCE - ARLES 64ºF - 66ºF - LES BAUX DE PROVENCE - SAINT RÉMY

After breakfast, we will board with our vehicle to the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde (free entrance), affectionately called the Bonne Mére (Good Mother) by the Marseillaises. After visiting the interior of the church, from which hang models of boats that appreciate her protection, we will get a fabulous view of the city and the port. Later, we will head to the nearby AIX-EN-PROVENCE, and we will do it through a very special road: the Cézanne road. Paul Cézanne was born, died and spent long periods of his life in Aix, and he was always linked to Provence. Here we will visit Cézanne’s Workshop (entrance included), where he worked every morning for the last four years of his life. Entering his studio, home of the light and objects that starred in his still lives, is a sublime experience for lovers of his work. Afterwards, our guide will accompany you to the Terrain des peintres (free entrance), a garden from which you can admire the majestic Sainte Victoire mountain, where nine reproductions of the author´s series will give us an idea of his obsession with the search for the nuances of light and color. Then, we will enjoy time for lunch in the beautiful city of Aix-en-Provence. In the afternoon, we will head to ARLES. Our guide will accompany you on a walk through this beautiful city on the banks of the Rhone River. For us, especially evocative for the presence of one of the most fascinating figures in art history: Vincent van Gogh. The Dutchman lived in this area between 1888 and 1890, less than fifteen months in which he painted about 200 canvases, 100 drawings and watercolors and wrote more than 200 letters, immersed in a frantic creative activity. It is in Arles that his painting acquires the culminating maturity and innovation. Here he met Gauguin, with which he worked for two months in a period of mutual inspiration that ended in the well-known crisis that led him to cut off his left ear. With our guide you will have the chance to know the Hotel Dieu, today Van Gogh Space (free admission). At Van Gogh time, it was the hospital where the artist healed from his wound, and where he returned on multiple occasions during the following months, laying with hallucinations. Here he painted some of his masterpieces. During the walk, you will have the opportunity to tour the Arles that Van Gogh knew, such as Alyscamps necropolis with Roman sarcophagus, which he painted in autumn, or the Café La Nuit, today called Café Van Gogh, in the Place du Forum, in addition to the many attractions of the ancient Arelatum, such as the thermal baths, the Theater or the Roman Amphitheatre, where bullfights are held today. Accommodation.

AVIGNON 61ºF - 64ºF - NICE 54ºF - 57ºF

We´ll leave Arles early in the morning. A few minutes away we will make a photo stop at Montmajour Abbey, nestled in the Provencal countryside and drawn by Van Gogh on multiple occasions. Next, we come up with a town of overwhelming beauty: LES BAUX DE PROVENCE. Nestled on the Massif des Alpilles mountains, Les Baux is one of the most impressive medieval ensembles in Provence, with narrow alleyways and topped by a castle that sits on a special kind of rock discovered in the XIX century and named Bauxite in honor of the town. After an unforgettable walk, we will continue our route towards SAINT REMY DE PROVENCE. Next to the Roman site of Glanum is located the Sanatorium of Saint Paul de Mausole (entrance included), a Romanesque monastery converted into a psychiatric hospital reached by a tormented Van Gogh due to outbursts of despair in May 1889, one of the most prolific years of his life. In this place, his room was rebuilt, which he also painted, and reproductions of his works in the garden where they were conceived. Nowadays, the institution also has a psychiatric recovery center through painting. Afterwards, we will move to Saint Rémy downtown, Nostradamus hometown, to soak up the Occitan culture in a short walk with our guide. Later, we will arrive in the city of AVIGNON, an impressive monumental town on Rhone River left banks, the Popes’ city and the theater capital. Here you can enjoy lunch on one of its terraces before you get to know the World Heritage Site. In the afternoon, we will return to NICE and end this impressive journey. End of services. Our guide will drop you off at the agreed point.We hope you have enjoyed your circuit with Europamundo.