The best museums Languedoc Roussillon

Housed in the Medical Library, this museum is dedicated to the collection of Xavier Atger (1758-1833), a print and drawing enthusiast who donated his collection to the university on his death. With a thousand drawings, five thousand prints from the French, Italian and Flemish schools of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, and a few paintings, the visit is worth its weight in gold! Since 2017, 81 drawings by the artist Colette Richarme (1904-1991) have joined the museum, an arrival that establishes an exciting dialogue between modern and classical art.

Located in the current town of Lattes, Lattara, an ancient port of the Western Mediterranean, was a place of economic and cultural exchanges. Discovered in 1963 by Henri Prades and the Groupe Archéologique Painlevé (GAP), the archaeological site, on 10 hectares, is to date a wonderful story of discoveries. An archaeological centre including a municipal museum, research laboratories, a documentation centre and an excavations house have been installed in the old Mas Saint-Sauveur, which belonged to the family of the painter Frédéric Bazille. Adjacent to the archaeological site, the museum, labelled "Musée de France" in 1986, invites you to discover the remains of the old city on nearly 1,000 m². More than 1500 objects bear witness to a commercial activity and daily life of the inhabitants.

On an island, an 18th century military fort houses the Albert-Dubout Museum. The Ballestras Redoubt was dismantled stone by stone and reassembled in the centre of the pond. The museum contains the works of the famous draftsman and his particularly colourful caricatures. Attracted by Palavas as early as 1922, Albert Dubout had the gift of making the comic come out of any thing or situation. In addition to the drawings, the exhibition presents Dubout's personal objects (drawing table, pipe, correspondence with Pagnol and Dard...).

The François Desnoyer collection is a place open to the arts and creation. Its reserve fund was built up from François Desnoyer's bequest of more than 700 pieces in 1972. This journey into the world of art continues with paintings from the 19th (E. Boudin, Ecole de Barbizon) and 20th centuries (several Utrillo, Marquet and Modigliani). In addition to the richness of the exhibitions (especially temporary and beautifully made), the scenography is superb. To be discovered without fail!

A funny place for a museum, yet this motorway area deserves a stop for many aspects. The Museum of Prehistory first, which evokes the daily life of the civilizations of the Fontbouisse civilization, installed in the region some 3 000 years ago. A vocal guide will guide you with games and lights, while contant the history of the Lady of Caissargues. And, in close proximity, the colonnades of the old Theatre of Nîmes, who were in place of the present Square of Art before being completely burnt in 1953. Built in the early th century and destroyed by a voluntary incident, the theatre was glorified by a néoromaine colonnade, which stayed and was réimplantée in Caissargues during the landscaping of the motorway approaches. Today, the new wedding outfits traditionally have been photographed under the colonnade. Too romantic!

Historically, the region is a land of craftsmanship and one of the main skills developed over the centuries is that of glassmakers. Housed in a former glassworks, this atypical museum invites you to discover the origins of their techniques, from Antiquity to today, and to understand the link between the area, its men and glass. The interpretation area retraces this history through visits, exhibitions, animations... A beautiful play of lights and colours highlights the different elements.