A pleasant little jaunt from Nice, this diversion to Renoir’s house and a medieval cliff-hanging village can be combined with a trip to Vence, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and Grasse.

Turn off the N98 5 km west of Nice-Côte d’Azur airport and drive into Cagnes-sur-Mer. Take rue Auguste Renoir off place de-Gaulle, cross a junction and turn left into chemin des Collettes, signposted Musée Renoir. The artist built Les Collettes in 1907, and lived there with his family until his death in 1919. With shutters drawn against the sunlight, the cool, uncluttered interior has original furnishings, portraits and sculpture by Renoir’s friends Albert André and Richard Guino. The garden is a surprise, with flowerbeds tumbling down the hill, olive and orange groves, a ridiculously pretty gardener’s cottage draped in vines, and views up to the castle.

Head back to place de-Gaulle, and uphill for Haut-de-Cagnes, grafted on to the hillside around the Chateau-Musée Grimaldi. Reached via a pretty Renaissance courtyard, the lower floor of the museum is devoted to local history and craft exhibits including an exhaustive exposé of the olive. Upstairs, the Musée d’Art Moderne Méditerranéen displays works by l9th-20thC artists who have worked along the Côte d’Azur (Chagall, Kisling, and so on). Take a leisurely wander around the village, browse in the craft shops, and revive yourself in one of the jolly cafés on the square.