New National Museum of Monaco

The New National Museum of Monaco runs across two Belle Époque villas: Villa Paloma on the heights, with a garden and a view down over the principality, and Villa Sauber near Larvotto, the last of the seaside villas of that period left standing. Both show contemporary art, usually thematic exhibitions rather than a permanent hang, and the buildings themselves are part of the visit. The museum was created in 2009 by bringing the principality's separate collections under one institution.

Background

Known earlier as the Musée National de Monaco, the museum is devoted to contemporary visual art. Villa Paloma began hosting its temporary exhibitions in 2010. Erik Bulatov and Yinka Shonibare have both had retrospectives here, and Monacopolis looked at the architecture, town planning and urbanisation of Monaco. Artifices instables, a show about ceramics, ran from September 2020 through January 2021. In 2022 the photo exhibition Newton, Riviera paid homage to Helmut Newton, and an installation on the artist and designer Christian Bérard came after it. The museum also holds a large collection of works relating to the painter Kees van Dongen. Marie-Claude Beaud was director in 2009-2021, and Björn Dahlström was appointed in 2022.

Source: Wikipedia, "New National Museum of Monaco"

What to look for

• Villa Paloma - the hillside villa with its garden and view over Monaco.
• Villa Sauber - the last surviving Belle Époque seaside villa.
• The exhibitions - the thematic contemporary shows across both sites.
• The buildings - the period architecture the museum occupies.

When to go

Year round; both villas are indoors. Exhibitions change several times a year. Both keep set hours and close on some days.

Before you go

There is no permanent collection on display; it is exhibitions only, so what you see depends entirely on timing. The two sites are at opposite ends of Monaco. Each is small.

Nearby

Villa Sauber is near Larvotto, and Villa Paloma is above the Jardin Exotique.

Key facts