Museums and cultural attractions in Saint-Tropez
Museums and butterflies
A high level cultural events runs all the year in Saint-Tropez. Mainly there are 3 places known for their exhibitions: The Annonciade Museum, The Citadelle Museum and The House of Butterflies.
THE ANNONCIADE MUSEUM
Paul Signac, on board of his Olympia, discovered the fishing harbor of Saint-Tropez in 1892 and bought a house, la Hune, turning it into his personal studio and inviting other fampus painters to join him, like Matisse, Derain, Marquet and Cross.
Thank to him Saint-Tropez has been one of the most active centre of "avant-garde" painting in the beginning of the 20th Century
The collection on show in the Annonciade Museum (it ranges from 1890 to 1950) is high standard and has a great homogeneity. The study of color and shape is the base of the paintings exhibited, with a collection which covers artists belonging the pointillist, Nabis and Fauvist movements.
The Annonciade, opened from 1922, can be considered the first Modern Art Museum of France. In a little space there are an incredible number of masterpiece. Between these:
Paul SIGNAC Saint-Tropez at sunset 1896 Pine trees at the Canoubiers 1897 Saint-Tropez the harbor 1899 Henri MATISSE Corsica landscape 1898 The Gipsy 1905/1906 Lady at her window Nice 1920 Indoors Nice 1920 André DERAIN Bridge on the Thames 1906 Sunshine on water 1906 Westminster 1906 Pierre BONNARD Nude in front of the fireplace 1919 Henri-Edmond CROSS Saint-Clair beach 1906/1907 ROUAULT Biblical landscape 1935
Albert MARQUET
Saint-Tropez the harbour 1905 Marseille the harbour 1918 Sète the Beaucaire canal 1924 Paris Quai d'Orléans 1930
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Location: Quai de l'Epi Le Port.
Opened: every day except Tuesdays.
Closed: in November, January 1st, May 1st, May 17th, Ascension and Christmas.
Winter Time Table: from 10 am to 12 am and 2 pm TO 6 pm.
Telephone : +33 (0)4 94 17 84 10
Fax : +33 (0)4 94 97 87 24
THE HOUSE OF BUTTERFLIES
Dany Lartigue, son of the famous photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue, created this museum. In this typical Tropezian home we can find a fabulous selection of all the french diurnal species of butterflies, assembled by Lartigue over the past decades.
Amongs the more than 35.000 items, representing extinct or protected species, there is the famous Black Apollo from the Mercantour region, and others rarities or abnormalities. In addiction there is also an important collection of exotic species from Amazonia and the Solomon Islands, with many people who defines these butterflies as the most beautiful in the world.
Thousands of specimens are being sorted and repaired to be presented under the best conditions and with an original approach, thanks to the Dany Lartigue's artist sensitivity. Very often the natural environnement of a species has been reconstituted, enabling the visitor to appreciate the subtleties of colour and camouflage. The most important entomologists recognize the scientific value of the collection and its beauty.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Location: 9, rue Etienne Berny
Opened: Monday through Saturday. April through October and during the Christmas school holidays.
Time Table: from 2.30 pm to 6 pm.
Entrance fee: 3.00 € per adult. Group of more than 10 persons: 2.50 € per person. Free for children under 10.
Telephone : +33 (0)4 94 97 63 45
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
THE CITADELLE MUSEUM
The Citadelle Museum is the name of a military engineering turned in cultural purpose.
During the XVIth Century, the town expanded fast and the menace of an attack by the Spanish King Philip the 2nd led Tropezians to fear an attack by the Spanish fleet or the Savoie army, due to the religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants in France. Considering that the Governor of Provence, decided to enclose the area of la "Bourgade" and the "Colline des Moulins" within the city walls to protect them from eventual attacks. A first fortification was built on the hill, with a levee of earth surrounded by a ditch at the end of 1589. The present precinct still bears the trace of that fortification. A Royal spot of land, it was regarded as alien to the City.
During the period from 1820 to 1830, the strategic purpose of the Citadel changed: the principal aim was to defend the harbour and the town of Saint-Tropez, to face a possible inland invasion. Therefore it became necessary to reinforce the defense system. Aanother entrance and a proper powder room were built. The inside entrenchment was reinforced, a well was dug and the outside ditches made more effective. No major works were undertaken at the Citadel after that period.
Due to the evolution of weapons, the Citadel lost its original purpose at the end of the XIXth Century and it still remained a military Centre during the first half of the XXth Century. During the first world war it sheltered the Axis Forces. In the second world war it was occupied by the Italians and then the Germans, before being attacked for the last time by the Allied Forces. In 1925 the keep was listed, and the Navy Museum opened in 1958. In 1993, the Navy sold the site to the town of Saint-Tropez, and in 1995 the whole site of the Citadel was listed.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Location: Saint-Tropez.
Opened: from 10 am to 12.30 pm and from 13.30 pm to 17.30 pm.
Closed: January 1st , May 1st, May 17th, Christmas and Ascension.
Telephone : +33 (0) 892 68 48 28