Mougins

Mougins is also one of the most popular places to eat in France. Among the many first-class restaurants are the two restaurants of master chef Roger Vergés Moulin de Mougins and Amandier de Mougins, the first of which is the most exclusive and expensive. Since we want to remain independent in collecting our stories and also pay our bills, we refrained from visiting the restaurants, fearing that our credit cards would dissolve when we paid. Apart from that, we are then so much "underdressed" at work that even the dimensions of a TV camera would not compensate for this.

Since its beginning, the town of Mougins was of agricultural importance. Since the Middle Ages this a place known for its production of jasmine, which serves as a raw material for perfumers, for example, in Grasse. Mougins is divided into the medieval village and a modern part of town.

Vieux Mougins, perched on a steep hill and winding up the hill like a snail shell, looks almost too perfect to be real.

Picasso discovered the medieval village in 1935 with his mistress Dora Marr and lived here with his last love, Jacqueline Roque, from 1961 until his death in 1973. Quite a few artists and other prominent personalities have also been seduced by the charm of Mougins. These include, in addition to Picasso Cocteu, Fernand Léger, Paul Eluard, Man Ray, Winston Churchill, Christian Dior, Catherine Deneuve, Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel and many others.

Picasso's spirit lives on in the old town, which squeezes between the old city walls: during his lifetime, he invited his friends to Mougins, and they all founded a community of artists who lived and worked here. The community has remained, survived and lives on in an impressive way - unlike what we found in Le Castellet or St. Paul de Venice.

In such a small, old town, one would assume to have seen everything by now: the lovingly maintained houses, the artists who live and work here, the hotels and restaurants, some of which (without envy) are outside our production budget. But this assumption is also deceptive. We visited the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, where more than 800 original exhibits from ancient Egypt, Greece, combined with neo-classical and modern artists are linked and displayed in an exciting way. Here you will find names such as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Cézanne, Dali, Warhol and many more. The presentation of the works of art and, of course, they themselves captivate even the not-really-knowledgeable of this métier.

Finally, a detail that, like the village itself, is exceptional: no matter which route you take to reach the old village, the road ends in a parking lot, because the village is car-free. The next surprise is (especially if previously acquainted with St. Paul de Vence) : parking is free. And there are two electric golf carts driving around, picking up the confused visitor and dropping him off at the edge of the village. And that too costs nothing. As may, I think, the tip for the friendly, young people who chauffeur you, be a little more generous.

Conclusion: we will be happy to come back here on our next visit to the region, a little better planned, less spontaneous and given the time needed to do justice to the artists living and working here alone and to visit a few more sights here that unfortunately there was no time for now.