The Museum of Fine Arts in Nice is located in the Kochubey Palace on Bomet Avenue. This palace impresses with its beauty, and its halls hold true treasures.

The museum has French-Russian roots. The idea of creating an art collection in Nice was proposed by Emperor Napoleon III during his visit to the city. It was a political move: according to the 1860 treaty with Piedmont-Sardinia (the predecessor of Italy), the territory of the County of Nice was ceded to France, and the emperor wanted to make a worthy impression on his new subjects. However, a suitable building for the museum was not found at that time, and the collection was initially stored in archives and the local library, later exhibited in unsuitable premises.

In 1878, Prince Lev Viktorovich Kochubey and his wife Elizaveta Vasilievna, an amateur composer known for her romances such as "I Knew Your Eyes" based on Tyutchev's verses, moved to Nice. Elizaveta Vasilievna purchased a plot of land in Nice and began constructing the palace. However, she soon grew tired of the project and in 1883 sold the unfinished building to American industrialist James Thompson. In 1925, the city acquired the villa, and the Palace of Arts was established here, where the museum of artist Jules Chéret was created. Over time, the collection expanded thanks to donations from collectors, and Nice received the Museum of Fine Arts.

The museum's collection is located on two floors. First, visitors pass through the former winter garden, now a patio, and enter the exhibition of primitive painting from Provence in the 16th-18th centuries. There is also a large hall dedicated to the works of the Van Loo painting dynasty. On the first floor, one can see works by Agnolo Bronzino, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Abraham Bloemaert, and Jean Honoré Fragonard. A magnificent monumental staircase leads to the second floor, where collections of academic painting and sculpture from the 19th century are presented, as well as works by Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Here, one can see works by Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Eugène Boudin, Alexandre Cabanel, Édouard Vuillard, as well as sculptures by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, François Rude, and Auguste Rodin.

The elegant Kochubey Palace, built grandly, with its high ceilings and excellent lighting, itself makes an impression of a museum exhibit. The first owners of the palace, Prince and Princess Kochubey, rest in the Orthodox cemetery of Cocade in Nice. Walking through the grand halls, one can mentally envision their figures, hear the chords of romance, and feel the atmosphere of that life when Nice was something like a summer residence for brilliant and self-assured Petersburgers, surrounded by silent paintings and sculptures.