Musée Masséna

Musée Masséna occupies a Belle Époque villa on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, presenting the city’s history through architecture and collections. Victor Masséna built the villa between 1898 and 1901. Its Italian neoclassical and Empire design frames original woodwork, marble, fabrics, furniture, and a dining room overlooking the restored gardens. Landscape architect Édouard André designed the villa’s restored gardens. The ground floor preserves a dining room, an office with a library, and a salon with nineteenth-century paintings, including portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon’s vest and posthumous mask feature among the displays. The first and second floors trace Nice from 1792 to 1939 through paintings, posters, photographs, and memorabilia. A model recalls the former Casino de la Jetée Promenade. The Cessole Library holds thousands of documents about the County of Nice, Provence, Savoy, and northern Italy. The property also includes courtyards and a pavilion. A restoration completed in 2008 returned the villa and gardens to their Belle Époque appearance. The museum opened there as a city museum in 1921.