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La Colombe d'Or
Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France · Independent · Accessible Luxury
Paul Roux opened the inn in the early 1920s, welcoming artists in exchange for their work. The Fondation Maeght, one of Europe's finest modern art institutions, is seventeen minutes on foot, and Marc Chagall, who spent nineteen years in the village, is buried in the local cemetery. Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Léger, and Chagall all left masterpieces behind, transforming the hotel into a living collection now including a poolside Calder mobile.
- 25 rooms
- Opened 1920
- Architect: Jacques Couelle
About La Colombe d'Or
- Founder Paul Roux, a local farmer, opened a simple cafe-bar in 1920 that grew into the inn, and during and after World War Two, artists famously paid for their stays with artwork.
- The result is one of the world's most extraordinary privately held modern-art collections, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Braque, Miro, and Calder.
- A doorway sign reads 'Ici on loge a cheval, a pied ou en peinture,' meaning guests could pay by horse, on foot, or in paintings.
- Yves Montand and Simone Signoret met at the inn and married nearby in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in 1951.
- A mobile sculpture by Alexander Calder hangs over the swimming pool, and the fireplace was designed by architect Jacques Couelle.
History
La Colombe d'Or began in 1920 when local farmer Paul Roux opened a café-bar called Chez Robinson at the entrance of the hilltop village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. He soon added three rooms above it and, around 1931–1932, reopened it as the inn La Colombe d'Or ('The Golden Dove').
Roux befriended the artists drawn to the Riviera's light, and during and after the Second World War painters and writers famously paid for their stays with artworks. The result is one of the world's most extraordinary privately held modern-art collections — Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Léger, Braque, Miró, Calder and César among them. Still run by the Roux family, the inn has grown from three rooms to around 25 rooms and suites and remains a legendary Provençal gathering place.
The setting
La Colombe d'Or occupies Place du Général de Gaulle at the gateway of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the fortified medieval village whose 16th-century ramparts commissioned by Francis I guard a labyrinth of cobbled lanes above the Provençal hills north of Nice. Paul Roux opened the inn in the early 1920s, welcoming artists in exchange for their work — Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Léger, and Chagall all left masterpieces behind, transforming the hotel into a living collection now including a poolside Calder mobile. The Fondation Maeght, one of Europe's finest modern art institutions, is seventeen minutes on foot, and Marc Chagall, who spent nineteen years in the village, is buried in the local cemetery. 3 km from M336 road.
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More hotels in Saint-Paul-de-Vence
- Le Saint Paul — Independent · Core Luxury
- Le Domaine du Mas de Pierre — Independent · Grand Luxury