Monastère de Cimiez, Nice

The Cimiez Monastery (Monastère de Cimiez) is the Franciscan monastery located on the hill of Cimiez, constructed based on the Notre-Dame de Cimiez chapel built by the Benedictine monks of the Saint-Pons abbey in 1010. The chapel was later ceded to the minor brothers of the Observance who transformed it into the current monastic complex.

The complex comprises the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church and the Franciscan museum, which exhibits artifacts and documents that trace Franciscan life in Nice since the 13th century. One of the most famous Franciscans of Nice was Brother Marc, who became known as fray Marcos de Niza and gave the name of the founder of his order to the site of the future city of San Francisco.

The Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church is adorned with three major paintings by Nice painter Louis Bréa, which corresponds to 40 years of the artist's activity. The beautiful cloister of the monastery, built in the 16th century, offers a magnificent setting for classical music concerts on the occasion of the Nice Musical Nights (Nuits Musicales de Nice).

The cemetery adjacent to the church is the resting place of several famous people, including the painters Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy, and Roger Martin du Gard, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1937. The entire monastery complex is classified as a historical monument, with the soil of the old garden and cemetery also receiving separate classifications.