Renoir-Museum

In 1907 Renoir bought a hillside of ancient olive trees above Cagnes-sur-Mer, on the coast near Nice, and built a house among them called Les Collettes. He spent the last 12 years of his life here, painting the warm southern light while rheumatoid arthritis slowly locked his hands.

The house is kept much as he left it, with his wheelchair and canvases still in place and the grove of 500-year-old olives falling away toward the sea. The lower floor holds the surprise of the visit: sculpture. Unable to model clay himself, Renoir directed a young assistant, Richard Guino, by voice and gesture, and together they produced about 20 bronzes drawn from his paintings and from classical myth.

The town bought the estate in 1960 and opened it to visitors, so the studio, the trees and the view down to the Mediterranean are all part of what you come to see.