Musée Masséna, Art museum on Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France
Musée Masséna is an art museum housed in a white villa on the Promenade des Anglais with three floors of display space. The building features ornate stonework and contains paintings, furniture, documents, and objects related to Nice's past from 1792 to 1939.
The villa was built between 1898 and 1901 for Victor Masséna, a descendant of a famous French military leader, and became a public museum in 1921. Danish architect Hans-Georg Tersling designed the structure during the height of the belle époque era on the French Riviera.
The museum displays art and objects that show how Nice and the French Riviera developed over time, revealing the lives and interests of people who lived here. Walking through the rooms, you sense the connection between local society and the grand belle époque period that shaped the city.
The entrance is located directly on the busy Promenade des Anglais, making it easy to find and walk to from nearby attractions. Inside, the rooms are connected by stairs, so plan to spend time exploring all three floors to see the full collection.
The top floor houses a library containing thousands of historical documents about Nice, Provence, Savoy, and northern Italy, a collection most visitors overlook. This rare gathering of regional records offers insights into how the area's borders and identities shifted over centuries.
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