* This article first appeared here in WANTED
While the glittering glamour of the Riveria’s coastline should rightfully feature on every French itinerary, it’s the string of inland hilltop villages that truly capture the magic of the region. Among them, Mougins is consistently regarded as one of France’s most beautiful and is a mere fifteen-minute drive from Cannes.
Though the French Riviera has been attracting tourists for hundreds of years, it primarily a winter destination for royalty and the super wealthy to escape harsher winters up North. It was largely due to the efforts of Coco Chanel who championed the area as a summer resort: she made a tan the new fad, replacing the pasty white complexions which had been considered posh since time immemorial.
The Côte d’Azur has continued to be home to a myriad of people of distinction, and Mougins’ claim to fame is Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and his 30-year love affair with the village adds a vivid layer to its history. Follow in his footsteps from the cafes he frequented, down to the Chapelle Notre-Dame de Vie de Mougins. Through the gate of this medieval chapel, you can also catch a glimpse of his last home. The garden bench under the line of conifers was also a favourite of his friend Winston Churchill.
From a distance, the village appears to be the icing atop one of the hills; the church of St Jacques Maggiore forms its highest point from which the narrow streets spiral out. Every corner reveals picture-perfect scenes, honestly feeling like a walk through a nouveau movie set.
An early spring visit is ideal; in the shoulder season of May and June there are fewer tourists, but still beautiful weather with the Jasmine and Bougainville bushes in full bloom. Winding your way through the labyrinth of lanes is part of the fun – in addition to your discoveries, below are some of my highlights.
The privately owned Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins has for twelve years featured permanent galleries dedicated to Greek, Roman and Egyptian artwork – the building itself an impressive feat with four levels of galleries spanning centuries of history. In 2024 the museum will take on a new lease of life, being rebranded as FAMM: Female Artists of the Mougins Museum – effectively becoming the first major museum in Europe that will be entirely dedicated to women artists.
While the House of Grimaldi has produced every Prince of Monaco, in Mougins the mother-and-son duo of Maison Grimaldi produce beautiful artwork – living up to the legend of their (actual) kin. You’ll find their gallery and clothing store in Mougins’ most beautiful lane. As an export from South Africa now firmly settled in the village, I asked Lee Lategan-McGregor how he chose Mougins.
“Mougins was a sort of happy mistake for me. I opened a pop-up shop almost two years ago and then fell in love with the village. Mougins has a wonderful cross-section of humanity with some of the kindest and most inclusive people I’ve met. It’s a genteel village with wonderful restaurants and a comparatively slow pace of life.”
The village is most lively in the evening when the restaurants are buzzing, the wine bars sated and people strolling about, even playing pétanque or boule under the plane trees in the square. Perhaps easy then to see why Lee says: “It’s one of the few places that still feels like one is in an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel like Tender Is The Night.” Fitzgerald, having lived on the Riviera for many years, contributed significantly to its fame.
In the late-setting summer sun, Le Cave de Mougin is where you’ll find locals gathering over a bottle of wine. The process is simple: visit the cellar, choose your bottle, and enjoy it. You’ll pay wine-store prices for the wine and then €15 for corkage; a welcomed break from the substantial costs often found on restaurant wine lists.
When it came to accommodation, I’d looked online for what I thought was my first choice. When a new friend from the village invited me to Les Rosées for a glass of wine, within minutes of arriving, I’d cancelled my original accommodation and made a reservation at the luxurious family-run guest house. With owner Daniella’s experience in design, her finest finds and skills have been employed in the guest house – and her eyes lit up as we took in the property together.
Five rooms are adorned with the finest French of flare: Chaux lime-washed walls, Biot pottery, Braquenié Wallpaper and Aubusson rugs. The garden has secret green sanctuaries aplenty, replete with 800-year-old twisted and gnarled olive trees. And since the region is known to be France’s sunniest spot, the large pool is a welcomed sight. Les Rosées was irrevocably romantic and undeniably French.
This Riviera secret garden is a fifteen-minute walk from the village of Mougins – and don’t forget to explore the canal which passes directly by the hotel. If you’re in the mood for a generous leg stretch, you can follow the Canal de la Siagne as it gently flows all the way down the valley to the lights, camera, and of course action, of Cannes. lesrosees.com