Tickets and Passes for Museums in Nice –  2024

Nice museum passTickets to museums in Nice range from 3.50-12€ for single admissions, but smart shoppers opt for the 4-day/96-hour all-museum pass to all 10 of the museums in Nice for the bargain price of 15€ (…with the very notable exception of the Chagall Museum, which is national and not municipal).

If you time your first museum right you can spread out your 4-day 96-hour pass to cover 5 days: as long as you get in the door before the 96-hours are up, you can stay in as long as you like (up to their 6pm closing), so save one of the meatiest museums for last!

Besides the 15€ all-museum pass, there are still several major categories of free:

  • Children and teens under 18 are free
  • Students of any age get in free (but you have to have student ID)
  • Locals can get in free with ID and proof of residence (a recent electricity or phone bill), which then gets you the blue Pass Musée card, good for free entry at all municipal museums for 3 years.
  • Special free events:
    • March, during the promotion Mars aux Musees anyone under 26 is free all month long
    • All museums are free for one night in May during the European Night of the Museums from 6pm to 11pm
    • And in mid-September all museums are free for History Weekend (La Weekend de la Patrimoine)

The 15€ all access pass is really a deal as Nice has a wealth of small but excellent museums to explore.  I love the Matisse museum, which has recently been redone, and can be coupled with the nearby Archaeological museum to tour the Roman Ruins just behind.  The Beaux Arts is very impressive and can be done with the elegant Musee Massena… you will absolutely get your money’s worth!   Another good coupling is the Terra Amata Caveman Museum with the little Museum of Natural History, especially with kids.

See in full screen

Single Ticket Prices

The 15€ 4-day museum pass is the killer deal, but if you really only just want to see one museum and basta, here are the single ticket prices (and remember that children under 18 are free for all of them):

  • 10€ – Combo Matisse Museum and Archeological Museum (right next door)
  • 10€ Single Ticket
    • Massena Museum
    • Beaux-Arts Museum
  • 8€ – Naïve Art Museum
  • 5€ Single Ticket
    • Musée de la Photographie
    • Palais Lascaris
    • Archeological Museum
    • Terra Amata Prehistoric Museum
  • 3.50€ – Natural History Museum

Closing Days

For planning purposes, here are the museums closed Monday: Beaux Arts, Photography Museum, and Natural History.

…and closed Tuesday:  Matisse, Lascaris, Massena, Archaeology (Roman Ruins), Terra Amata (Caveman), and Art Naïf.  (Not part of the 4-day pass, but the Chagall Museum is also closed Tuesday, as is the free Asian Art Museum.)

All museums are closed on Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter, and French labor day May 1.

Free Museums in Nice

There are 5 museums in Nice that are absolutely free to everyone, all the time:

  • The Museum of Asian Art located in the Parc Phoenix complex near the airport (closed Tuesdays)
  • L’Artistique Contemporary Art Museum, one of my favorites, tram stop Jean Médecin (closed Mondays and all of August)
  • Espace Lympia A small modern art galerie with frequently changing exhibits.   Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.  2 quai Entrecasteaux on the far side of the Nice Port (tram stop Port Lympia)
  • Lazaret Prehistoric Grotto Tour the actual site of the caveman encampment.  33 bis boulevard Franck Pilatte, bus #98.
  • The Franciscan Monk Museum up on Cimiez hill near the Matisse Museum (closed Saturdays and Sundays)

Tickets for Non-Municipal Museums in Nice

The Chagall Museum is a national museum, so not included in the municipal museum pass. Entrance is 8-10€ for adults and it has a free day on the first Sunday of each month.

  • Back up to main Museum page

Comments are closed.