Review
La Colombe d’Or is a family-run hotel and restaurant in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, known for its Provençal cooking and remarkable art collection.
It began in 1920 as Chez Robinson, a café-bar opened by Paul Roux and his wife Baptistine, known as Titine. It later became La Colombe d’Or, a small inn that attracted artists drawn to the Côte d’Azur. Paul Roux’s interest in art led to friendships with Léger, Braque, Matisse, Picasso, Miró and others, some of whom exchanged works for meals or stays.
During the 1940s, the hotel became a meeting place for artists and writers living in the south of France. Jacques Prévert became a close friend of the family, while later generations brought Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Chagall, Calder and César. Fernand Léger created the large ceramic work that remains on the terrace. The collection has continued to grow under successive generations of the Roux family, with works displayed throughout the restaurant, hotel and gardens. More recent additions include a large ceramic work by Sean Scully beside the swimming pool.
La Colombe d’Or remains in the Roux family today, combining a simple Provençal restaurant and historic hotel with one of the most unusual private art collections on the Côte d’Azur.
Editor’s Highlights
- Les Hors d’Oeuvre Colombe d’Or
- L’Aioli tout simple à la morue Fraîche et ces Cinq de Légumes