Museum of Fine Arts, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France Knowing that Lyon is one of France’s most culturally significant towns, I had high hopes for its Museum of Fine Art. The museum is housed in an important former abbey, which has its origins in the 6th century. In 1659, the abbess Anne de Chaulnes began construction of the Royal Abbey…
The Nora Archaeological Site, Area Archeologica di Nora, Pula, Sardinia Finding out that there was a Roman site to visit near the Sardinian city of Cagliari was quite exciting. Finding out that it was next to the sea made it even better – having visited a number of sites along the Turkish coast, I figured that I’d be in for…
The Old Bishops’ Palace Museum, Musée de l’Ancien Évêché, Grenoble, France The history of the Isère Department is sweepingly and excellently looked at in the building that used to be home to the bishops of Grenoble. The collection is not vast, but very well presented, and makes for a good starting point for further exploration of the city. The building…
The Archaeological Museum of St Laurent, Musée archéologique Saint-Laurent, Grenoble, France Across the Isère river, in the quaint streets of the St Laurent quarter of Grenoble, is a fascinating little museum which serves as a heartening example of what can happen if you dig down under the buildings of cities with ancient origins. The museum is proud of the fact…
The Old Archbishops’ Palace, Narbonne, France The formidable Roman history of the French city of Narbonne was, until recently, covered in the Old Palace building by the cathedral. It was a fitting home, but it is, sadly, no more. Come 2020, the objects will be in their new home, the NarboVia museum. This is not a bad thing, because while…
Mirabilis Exhibition at the Popes’ Palace, Avignon Staged in a grand hall in the Popes’ Palace in 2018 was an exhibition which highlighted the treasures found across Avignon’s five main museums and galleries: the Petit Palais, Calvet, Requien, Roure and Lapidaire. What made it rather special was the fact that it was curated by Christian Lacroix. Despite the fact that…
The Archaeological Site of Lattara and the Henri Prades Museum, Site archéologique Lattara – musée Henri Prades, Lattes, France South of Montpellier, near the beaches at Pérols, is a little Roman site. It is not terribly exciting for the average visitor – there are grids of stones, but not much that is visually engaging. However, it’s been terribly important for…
National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari, Cagliari, Sardinia When planning my trip to Cagliari, the first thing I knew I really needed to do was visit the Archaeology Museum. It would have been necessary anyway, but what made it sound particularly interesting was the fact that the museum had objects from an ancient native Sardinian culture. But…
Archaeological Area, Area archeologica, Cagliari, Sardinia The St Eulalia complex in the medieval district of Marina in Cagliari, is a curiosity. There is a church round the back and there is a treasury upstairs from the archaeology site. The whole complex is referred to as MUTSEU. The archaeological area of St Eulalia doesn’t just date from one period – it spans…
Museum of Art and History, Musee d’Art et d’Histoire, Orange, France The promising and spruced-up Museum of Art and History in Orange was – like the rest of the town – something of a disappointment. With my usual luck, parts were closed off, due to refurbishments, but I’m not sure that even if I’d seen their full collection, I would…
Roman Theatre of Orange, Théâtre antique d’Orange, Orange, France As part of my summer trip to the South of France, after over twenty years of eager anticipation, I finally made it to the Roman Theatre in Orange. And, crushingly, I was disappointed. The theatre is widely publicised as being one of the best preserved Roman theatres of Europe, but somehow it…
