An Art-Filled Roadtrip Through The South of France

While one generally tends to think of France’s temples to art as being concentrated in Paris, the South of France has some of the most special contemporary art foundations found anywhere in the world, all dotting the bucolic vineyards and hillsides of Provence.  It’s an easy train ride from Paris or if you’re State-side, a hop on a plane to Nice.  And unlike the roadtrips of the American West which usually involve daily (breathtaking) five hour drives, you won’t clock more than a couple hours at a time here, popping into a Chapel designed by Matisse here, or a two-star Michelin lunch there.

Below I’ve laid out a one week itinerary that includes plenty of time for lazing around the pools of the insanely awesome hotels the region offers (two of them are in my Top 5 of all time).  You could definitely condense things into a 3-4 day long-weekend, but take time to sip the rosé and smell the lavender.  Remember, you’re on French time. Slow down, relax, it’s a vacation for Pete’s sake.

The ideal time to do this trip will be the first week of July.  The big art fair in Arles—Les Rencontres—will just be opening up, and you won’t want to miss it. It’s also early enough that you’ll avoid (some) of the tourists and beat (a bit) of the heat.  You could definitely do this trip in Early June or September, but some of the restaurants may be closed and some of the art foundations shuttered.

Oh, another thing: you’ll notice that I avoid mentioning strolls through any of the picturesque  little hillside towns that dot the landscape.  That’s because they are all tourist hellscapes filled with the same shitty BS art-galleries peddling ersatz watercolors and the same seven dish towels.  You got better things to do, trust me.

DAY 1- ARRIVAL IN NICE, HEAD FOR THE HILLS!

Grab your rental car and head to Chez Davia for lunch.  Will this be the best meal of the trip?  Most likely not, but especially if you’re coming in from abroad, this super cozy, family-run secret will plunge you right into the mood of the region.  The food is simple, the room is spartan, but there is so much love coursing through its veins it’s hard to overlook this little hole in the wall.  You’ll also be two blocks from the beach in case you want to stretch your legs for a stroll along the boardwalk, or if you’re in the mood to dive straight into the art, you’re a five minute drive to the Matisse museum which will be the perfect intro for your first real stop on the road…

The Matisse Chapel hangs precariously off the side of a winding road that takes you up towards your hotel for the night. Make sure to hit this during the late-afternoon as the golden sun-light beams through the artist’s breathtaking stain-glass windows, creating trippy reflections all around you.

From here, check into the Colombe d’Or Hotel.  A heads up, ever since Jay Z and Beyoncé posed for pictures here (and even some time before), it became a damn hard ticket to score.  You may need to base your entire trip around availability here and whatever you do, DO NOT SETTLE FOR A ROOM IN THE NEW WING, where they house the majority of the selfie-stick wielding degenerates.  In fact, if you can, insist on Room 36 (seen above).

The closest approximation of this Eden that I can think of in the States is Chateau Marmont but instead of being inhabited at one point by degenerate doped-up rock stars, it was originally home to degenerate doped-up artists who all paid for their rooms with works of art.  The result?  You may have an original Miro hanging in your room, the indoor dining room is replete with Picassos and the iconic (selfie-worthy)  emerald-tiled pool is anchored by a spectacular Calder mobile.   Book a table for dinner outdoors where the space is framed by a Fernand Leger work and tuck into the beautiful basket of cruditées before wrapping things up with their soufflé.

DAY 2 - MAEGHT FOUNDATION

You could hurry things along and squeeze this day into the following one, but come on, you’re on vacation.  So take some time to loll around the pool, order a lazy breakfast in bed, and then drive over to the Fondation Maeght, a temple of modern art housed in a temple of modern architecture.  The collection will feel like an effortless extension of all the work that has enveloped you at the hotel, just in a grander setting.

If you choose to do the trip this upcoming summer (2024), take an hour-long detour from here to visit the artistic retreat of Villa Navarra in Le Muy, where one of my favorite artists, Matt McCormick, will be the artist-in-residence, producing a sprawling one-man show.

Head back to Saint Paul de Vence in the early evening to watch a heated game of pétanque in the town square while you down a Pastis and feast on a little charcuterie platter.  Will you be squeezed in to a table next to Bob and Diane from Chippewa Falls and a party of 8 from Chengdu?  Probably, but this is the reality of summer travel through France.  I could give you tips for a road trip through Uzbekistan but would you really go there over this?

DAY 3 - MARSEILLE

Here again, there’s no real need to spend the night in Marseille but if you don’t want to feel rushed in exploring the city, book a room for the night at the Tuba Hotel on the outskirts of town and secure a table for dinner on the rocky Mediterranean outcrops while you’re at it.

In Marseilles there’s a bunch to do.  As an architecture fan, my first stop would be Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation, whose rooftop has been turned into the MAMO art center by local designer Ora Ito.

Grab a quick bite at the little Epicerie Ideal and pick up some local treats, from bottarga and tinned fish to confit lemons and homemade vinegars.  Continue the shopping spree at the legendary Maison Empereur, the town’s answer to Tokyo Hands since 1827. Want more modern, want more fashion? Then Jogging is the joint for you.  But don’t spend toooo much time shopping, you still have to hit up the MAC contemporary art museum, and again, for the architecture fans, the design of the MUCEM is pretty great.

On the off-chance that there’s a local football game going on, their team, OM,  has some of the most hard-core fans around and the matches are quite the spectacle.  Just don’t go if their opponents are Paris’ PSG, those matches usually devolve into riots.  And by that I don’t mean a hilarious laugh-fest.

DAY 4 - PARADISE AWAITS

Head off to the countryside and book an early lunch at La Chassagnette, an idyllic restaurant with vast gardens to stroll through, from which the mostly vegetarian multi-course meals are sourced.

If you’re shocked by how sparse this day looks it’s because not only will the lunch take a long time but you will want to spend as much time as possible at one of my favorite hotels in the world where you’ll be staying a night or two, Villa La Coste.  The hotel rests above a vast vineyard which for the past two decades has been turned into a world-class contemporary art park, Chateau La Coste, with permanent pavilions and works by Andy Goldsworthy, Tadao Ando, Prune, Renzo Piano, Anish Kapoor and so so soooo many more.

As you book your room here make sure to organize a private tour of the grounds.  You can either do it on foot which I would NOT recommend if it’s hot out as it’s a several-hour long walk under a brutal sun.  However, the golf carts and accompanying guides they offer are ideal.

Again, if you’re looking to shave off a day or so from this itinerary you could squeeze in the tour this evening, but you could also just laze by the pool, enjoy your perfectly appointed villa and wait until tomorrow.  For dinner there are multiple choices on the property.  You’ll probably be fairly full from lunch so I would recommend the 3 star Hélène Darroze restaurant in the glass pavilion on the hotel property for the following night, along with the exceptional Francis Mallmann steakhouse which is on the museum’s grounds (a five minute stroll from the hotel).  However, the museum also offers a simple pizzeria and a couple other restaurants which would do the trick.

DAY 5 - POOL DAY

Day off.  Relax, ready a book by the pool, enjoy lunch from the hotel’s terrace, feast on a 5 course dinner, hit up the art park if you didn’t do it yesterday.  Trust me, you’ll never want to leave this hotel.  Ever.

DAY 6 - ARLES

This picturesque medieval town is the epicenter of the South of France’s art scene, the Marfa of Europe.  The biggest power player here is billionaire heiress and philanthropist Maja Hoffmann’s Luma Foundation, designed by Frank Gehry.  Each year it builds one incredible show or retrospective, featured alongside a series of smaller installations in the multiple halls on the grounds.

If this weren’t enough, the entire town gets taken over starting the first week of July by Les Recontres, an art-and-photography fair that has drawn the world’s biggest artists together since 1970.

In the heart of the town is the classic old hotel, the Nord Pinus, who takes the opportunity to bring in an incredible foreign chef for their outdoor square restaurant each season.  Last year was the team from Mexico City’s Maximo Bistrot.  But choosing your dinner here will be a real toss-up as local star Celine Pham has an exceptional tasting menu that she offers nightly, two blocks away at Inari, with one of the strongest local natural wine selections you’re bound to find.

And if the slightly shamble-y Nord Pinus hotel isn’t to your liking, I’d strongly recommend spending the night at Le Cloitre, one of a few properties taken over by Hoffmann to house all the Luma visitors.  This one has been wonderfully redone by the always eclectic, wildly inspired India Mahdavi.

DAY 7 - OUT OF YOUR GORDE

Before heading out of Arles make sure to visit the eloquent, understated Lee Ufan Foundation, tucked away on a little side-street, it will be one of the most poetic moments on your entire trip.  And if you want to channel your inner Ernest Hemingway, check to see if there’s a bullfight in the town’s ancient arena, it’s one of the only places left in France to see them.

From here you’ll be heading out to the hillside (ultra-touristy) town of Gordes, for a luxuriously lazy lunch on the terrace of the Arielles Hotel at Jean-Francois Piege’s outpost of Clover. The view is unrivaled, right out of a Çezanne painting.

Finally, make your way to Avignon in time to check out the Collection Lambert before you return your car at the train station (they have Hertz, Sixt, Eurocar, and other outposts).  You can either take a TGV back to Paris or come full circle by heading to Nice.

There you go, the perfect relaxing week of gorging on art in the south of France. See you down there…