Landlocked Vallauris depends on the sale of tourist items and ceramics. Merchants selling the colorful wares line both sides of avenue Georges-Clemenceau, which begins at a point adjacent to the Musée Picasso and slopes downhill and southward to the edge of town. Some of the pieces displayed in these shops are in poor taste. In recent years, the almost-universal emphasis on the traditional rich burgundy color has been replaced with a wider variety geared to modern tastes.
On the place du Marché in Vallauris, near the site where Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth were married, you'll see Picasso's Homme et Mouton (Man and Sheep). The town council of Vallauris had intended to ensconce this statue in a museum, but Picasso insisted that it remain on the square "where the children could climb over it and the dogs water it unhindered."
Bordering place de la Libération is a chapel shaped like a Quonset hut, containing the Musée Picasso La Guerre et La Paix (tel. 04-93-64-71-83; www.musee-picasso-vallauris.fr), and also the entrance to the 16th-century Château de Vallauris (same phone). Inside the château is a two-in-one museum, Musée Alberto Magnelli and the Musée de la Céramique Moderne. This trio of museums developed after Picasso decorated the chapel with two paintings: La Paix (Peace) and La Guerre (War), offering contrasting images of love and peace on the one hand, and violence and conflict on the other. In 1970, a house painter gained illegal entrance to the museum one night and, after whitewashing a portion of the original, substituted one of his own designs. When the aging master inspected the damage, he said, "Not bad at all." In July 1996, the site was enhanced with a permanent exposition devoted to the works of the Florentine-born Alberto Magnelli, a pioneer of abstract art whose first successes were acclaimed in 1915 and who died in 1971, 2 years before Picasso. The third section showcases ceramics, both traditional and innovative, from regional potters. All three museums are open June to August Wednesday to Monday 10am to 6pm, September to May Wednesday to Monday 10am to noon and 2 to 5pm.
Admission costs 3€ ($3.90) for adults and 1.50€ ($1.95) for students and children 16 and under.
