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Musée des Arts asiatiques
The Nice Museum of Asian Arts is set in the Parc Phoenix, a seven-hectare floral park near Nice-Côte d'Azur airport and the Promenade des Anglais. Opened in 1998, it emerges from an artificial lake in a building based on the square and the circle, symbols of earth and sky in Asia, and which evokes a Tibetan mandala.
The permanent collection is organised by region. The ground floor has four spaces: China, with jades, bronzes, glazed terracottas and celadons; Japan, centred on objects both useful and aesthetic; India, with pieces in ivory and stone; and Southeast Asia, where Chinese and Indian influences mingle. The first-floor rotunda, topped by a glass pyramid, is dedicated to Buddhism, the common denominator of the continent.
The museum gives a particular place to Japan: tea ceremony, ikebana and temporary exhibitions devoted to the country punctuate its programme. The basement hosts temporary exhibitions, including a programme of Asian photography. The place is for art lovers as well as strollers in the park.
