Photo : Jpchevreau / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a village of the Alpes-Maritimes perched on a rocky spur, between the Alps and the Mediterranean. After 1388, when Nice joined the States of Savoy, it became a frontier stronghold; in the sixteenth century, Francis I had bastioned ramparts built there, still preserved in their entirety today.
The heart of the village brings together the Rue Grande, lined with mansions, the collegiate church of the Conversion of Saint Paul and the White Penitents' chapel, decorated by Jean-Michel Folon. Saint-Paul-de-Vence owes its fame to its artists: the La Colombe d'Or inn keeps works by great painters, and the Maeght Foundation, devoted to modern and contemporary art, continues this tradition. Marc Chagall lived nineteen years in the village and lies in its cemetery. Many art galleries now enliven the lanes.
