Mougins, the village where people stay
Cover photo: the old village of Mougins seen from the air. © Ville de Mougins
People often discover Mougins on a summer evening, at a table on a square in the old village, the Grasse plain below. They come back for an exhibition, a lunch, a round of golf. And one day they realise they are looking for a house.
Perhaps that is Mougins's real talent: being both a place you visit and a place you live. The hilltop village keeps its lanes and galleries; all around, the residential quarters unfold their gardens, pines and pools, a few minutes from Cannes and at the heart of the Sophia Antipolis technology park.
A market all weekend
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, from 8.30 am to 1 pm, the farmers' and artisans' market fills the Cours des Arts, avenue de Tournamy. Since June 2026 it is no longer held only on Sundays: the town has extended it to Saturdays. You will find seasonal fruit and vegetables, cheeses, charcuterie, olive oil, socca to eat while still warm and a few handmade pieces. On Saturdays, a large stand from the Rosiers de Mougins draws the gardeners. Source: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Tourisme
Saturday is for errands and the shops open nearby; Sunday for coffee on a terrace and a slow wander between the stalls. Two moods, one pleasure: filling your basket while greeting the same faces each week.
The tables that made the village famous
Mougins has long been synonymous with fine cooking, and still is. On place du Commandant-Lamy, La Place de Mougins is the house of chef Denis Fétisson, precise and generous southern cooking, worth booking for special moments.
A little further on, L'Amandier, founded in 1970 and renovated in its day by Roger Vergé, welcomes guests until Sunday 8 November at lunch, then takes a short break before reopening on Friday 27 November 2026. Its two terraces look over the Grasse plain, and its Salon Picasso takes its name from a ceramic given to the house in the 1970s.
To go further into the village's kitchens, we devoted an article to the winter table of Mougins.
Growing up in Mougins
For an international family, Mougins offers a rare advantage: the Mougins British International School welcomes children aged 3 to 18 and follows the English National Curriculum, through to IGCSEs and A levels. Admissions run throughout the year, subject to places.
The Valbonne International Campus, with its international sections, is also close by. We described it in our article on the family villa in Valbonne.
Two golf courses and courts in the sun
Few towns can say as much: Mougins has two 18 hole courses. The Royal Mougins Golf Club, a par 71 designed by Robert von Hagge, is a private club open to members, hotel guests and, within limits, outside players. The Golf Country Club de Cannes-Mougins, a par 72, winds through the Valmasque forest, between river and water hazards. A sign of the region's place on the golf map, Cannes has just hosted the IGTM (International Golf Travel Market) at the Palais des Festivals, from 19 to 22 October 2026, the world trade show for golf travel, reserved for professionals.
For racquet lovers, the Tennis Club de Mougins, at the Roger-Duhalde sports complex on avenue Notre-Dame-de-Vie, has five hard courts, three clay courts and two padel courts. Source: Ville de Mougins
The Valmasque, a forest next door
Between Mougins and Valbonne, the Valmasque departmental park spreads over 428 hectares of pines and oaks. Families set off on easy loops such as Carton, Fontmerle or Fugueiret, from 2.8 to 4.6 kilometres. Source: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Tourisme
At its edge, the Fontmerle pond is a small wonder. In summer, from July to September depending on the year, it is covered in lotus flowers, and an observatory lets you watch birds in every season. Source: Ville de Mougins
Having grown up on the Côte d'Azur, we love these forests behind Cannes, where a change of air is ten minutes away. That too is life here: the sea on one side, the pines on the other.
Picasso, and art in everyday life
Mougins welcomed Picasso as early as the 1930s, when he stayed at the Hôtel Vaste Horizon with Dora Maar. In 1961 he settled with Jacqueline at the mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie, his last studio, where he lived and worked until his death in 1973. Sources: Musée Picasso Paris, Mougins Tourisme
This heritage is not frozen. In the old village, FAMM, opened in June 2024 in the former Museum of Classical Art, is the first museum outside the United States to devote its permanent collection to great women artists, from Berthe Morisot to Joan Mitchell and Niki de Saint Phalle.
Close by, the Centre de la photographie de Mougins opens its new exhibition, "Icônes : images fantasmées", on the evening of Friday 30 October, on view from 31 October 2026 to 7 February 2027. From Marilyn to Maradona, a lovely autumn outing, children included, with young audience tours on some Sundays.
The value of a house you love living in
A market you return to every week, a school a few minutes away, a golf course where you have your habits, a forest for Sundays, a museum for rainy days: this is what gives meaning to buying in Mougins, well beyond the square metres.
The town's houses reflect this variety, from contemporary villas to reimagined bastides. We explored this architecture in the neo-Provençal revival around Mougins, and to choose between Roquefort-les-Pins, Mougins and Valbonne, three neighbouring villages, our comparative guide can help.
In Les Hautes Bréguières, a few minutes from the old village, we are currently presenting a recent south facing villa with four bedrooms and a pool: a fine example of life in Mougins, between garden, calm and everything close at hand.
And for owners thinking of selling, our article Small details, large negotiations looks at what really weighs on negotiation day.
At Azure & Stone, we like to talk about the life around a house as much as the house itself. Measuring journeys, understanding a neighbourhood, discovering the places that could become yours.
Because in Mougins, people often come for a few days. And they catch themselves thinking:
"What if we stayed?"