Picasso Museum

The Musee Picasso Antibes occupies the medieval Chateau Grimaldi, perched on the seawall in the old town of Antibes on the Cote d'Azur. Picasso used the chateau as a studio for a few intense months in 1946 after the war, painting large, light works on whatever materials he could find, and in thanks for the loan of the space he left around 23 paintings and 44 drawings behind, including the mythological La Joie de Vivre. That gift turned the chateau into the first museum in the world dedicated to Picasso, opening in 1966. The originals still hang in the rooms where they were painted, complemented by sculptures from Germaine Richier and Joan Miro on the sea terrace overlooking the bay. The visit pairs naturally with a walk through the Marche Provencal market just below the ramparts.