When visiting Aix-en-Provence, be sure to stop by the Granet Museum on Place Saint-Jean de Malte, an art museum that opened in 1838.
This collectors' museum was named after one of its illustrious benefactors, the painter François Marius Granet, and is now home to no fewer than 12,000 masterpieces!
Over time, the museum has expanded significantly in order to house these collections: buildings were erected around the former priory of the Knights of Malta, which contains the original collections, then the old Chapel of the White Penitents was attached to the complex in order to accommodate the Jean Planque collection of modern art in 2013.
The Granet Museum has a department dedicated to French, Nordic and Italian painting, from the 14th to the 18th century, a 19th-century French painting department including works by Ingres, a "Cezanne" room devoted to the local artist, rooms devoted to the 20th century, from Cézanne to Giacometti, a sculpture gallery and archaeology rooms devoted to the Celto-Ligurians.
Guided tours, temporary exhibitions, lectures, workshops and early learning trails for children take place at the Granet Museum all throughout the year.