Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Around
St-Paul is served by bus 400 running between Nice (€1, one hour, at least hourly) and
Vence (€1, 15 minutes). The town is closed to traffic, but there are several car parks
(€2.20 per hour) surrounding the village.
Vence
POP 19,377
Despite its well-preserved medieval centre, visitors often skip Vieux Vence altogether to
head straight to Matisse's otherworldly Chapelle du Rosaire. Yet Vence deserves more
than a flying visit. It's worth spending a little time here, if only to appreciate its comparat-
ively quiet medieval streets and enjoy some of its gastronomic gems.
The
tourist office
( 04 93 58 06 38;
www.ville-vence.fr
;
8 place du Grand Jardin;
9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun Jul & Aug, 9am-6pm Mon-Sat Sep, Oct & Mar-
Jun, 9am-5pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar)
has several good leaflets for self-guided tours in and
around Vence. A fruit-and-veg market fills place du Jardin several mornings a week, with
antiques on Wednesday.
Sights
Chapelle du Rosaire
ARCHITECTURE
(Rosary Chapel;
www.vence.fr/the-rosaire-chapel.html
; 466 av Henri Ma-
tisse; adult/child €4/2; 2-5.30pm Mon, Wed & Sat, 10-11.30am & 2-5.30pm Tue &
Thu)
An ailing Henri Matisse moved to Vence in 1943, where he fell under the care of his
former nurse and model Monique Bourgeois, who had since become a Dominican nun.
She persuaded him to design this extraordinary chapel for her community. 'This work re-
quired four years of exclusive and relentless attention, and it is the fruit of my whole
working life. Despite all its imperfections, I consider it my masterpiece,' he said.
From the road, all you can see are the blue-and-white ceramic roof tiles and a wrought-
iron cross and bell tower. Inside, light floods through the glorious
stained-glass windows
,
painting stark white walls with glowing blues, greens and yellows (symbolising respect-
ively water/the sky, plants/life, the sun/God's presence).
