La Colombe d’Or is a picturesque hotel & restaurant in the hilltop town of St.Paul de Vence on the Cote d’Azur, with an incredible artistic heritage.

In the 1920’s the Colombe d’Or converted from a cafe to a hotel and quickly attracted a strong following in the artistic community. Artists such as Matisse, Miro and Picasso offered the hotel paintings in return for a nights stay or a couple of meals. As a result, customers at the hotel and restaurant find themselves beside paintings said to be “as good as those in any museum”. This, accompanied with the unpretentious charm and secluded beauty of the hotel give the Colombe d’Or a maximum score for style.

The hotel scores less well in terms of accessibility. There are no disabled rooms provided and no disabled toilet but the restaurant and bar is on one level once you get to it. There is a toilet at that level but it’s not big enough for a wheelchair so ambulant disabled people can use. You can drive quite close to the front door but there is plenty of crazy paving to trip you up. Nevertheless it’s certainly worth the visit for the art, the provençale cuisine (especially the ‘house’ hors d’oeuvres) and the Miro mobile at the swimming pool. Eating outside in the courtyard, in the sun, is a ‘must do’ at least once in your life!!