Take the opportunity to visit the collections of neo-impressionist painters and sculptors representing figurative art at the Musée de l'Annonciade, to discover the astonishing Butterfly Museum of painter-entomologist Dany Lartigue, to learn about the true history of Saint-Tropez at the Musée d'histoire maritime in the citadelle and, finally, to smile during a visit to the temporary exhibition on the 60th anniversary of Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez at the Musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma.
The program in detail:
- Musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma: Exhibition "60 ans, Garde à vous! A Gendarme and a Car on the Path to Glory". Free admission from 6.30pm to 10pm (last admission 9.30pm). Guided tour at 7pm and, between 6:30pm and 9pm, "Les enquêtes de Cruchot" treasure hunt.
- Musée de l'Annonciade: free access to collections from 6 pm to 10 pm (last admission 9:30 pm),
- Musée d'histoire maritime - la Citadelle: 6:30pm: lecture on the Mourdeille brothers, two exceptional privateers from Provence during the Revolution and the First Empire, by Laurent Pavlidis, curator and doctor of history. Free tour of the site and museum from 6pm to 9pm (last admission 8:30pm),
- Maison des Papillons - musée Dany-Lartigue: free tour of the site from 6 pm to 10 pm. At 6:30pm, anchoïade and musical performance by Etoile Singer.
As the Var's leading museum city, with over 300,000 visitors last year, Saint-Tropez is opening the doors of its four museums on Saturday, May 18, from 6 to 10 pm, to celebrate Museum Night.
Musée de l'Annonciade: the "most beautiful of France's small museums" presents a panorama of famous paintings illustrating pictorial currents around neo-impressionism, the nabis, the fauvists and independent artists. Numerous representations of Saint-Tropez by renowned artists who followed in Signac's footsteps from 1892 to the 1930s/1940s. Collection of major figurative sculptures (Maillol, Despiau, Wlérick) and ceramics. The museum itself is a perfect example of modernist renovation in a former chapel, converted entirely into a museum in the 1950s, with all its interior architecture and furnishings (ironwork, lighting, seating, furniture) protected as "Monument Historique".
Maison des Papillons-Musée Dany-Lartigue: a veritable "Sistine Chapel of Lepidoptera", the Maison des Papillons features an astonishing collection of butterflies and insects assembled over several decades by Dany Lartigue, painter and passionate entomologist. A must: the butterflies are presented in their natural setting, painted by Dany Lartigue.
Musée d'histoire maritime - la Citadelle: located in the citadel's keep, the Musée d'histoire maritime tropézienne explores the maritime heritage forged by local players from different eras: sailors, explorers, fishermen, boat builders... A year after its opening in July 2013, it was already one of the Var's top paying museums. Today, it is the Var's second-biggest museum in terms of paid attendance.
Musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma de Saint-Tropez: inaugurated at the end of June 2016, the museum housed in the famous Gendarmerie des Gendarmes de Saint-Tropez surpassed the million visitor mark in March 2024, making it the most visited museum space in the Var. Through permanent and temporary exhibitions, and tributes to films shot locally that have left their mark on Tropezians and the 7th art, the museum highlights the love affair between Saint-Tropez and the cinema. A must-see: the exhibition on the 60th anniversary of Le Gendarme and the first Mustang in France, which opened on April 13.
