The NMNM's Story: Monaco's National Museum and Its Two Villas
How Monaco's national museum grew from an 1870s local-history collection into the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco: Villa Sauber and the Galéa dolls, Villa Paloma's 2010 opening, the collection, and what the museum does beyond its walls.
Key facts
- Created
- Musée National 1972; became the Nouveau Musée National in the 2000s
- Villas
- Villa Sauber (exhibitions since 2009, now closed for works) · Villa Paloma (opened 2010)
- Director
- Björn Dahlström, since 2021
- Head office
- 8 avenue Hector Otto · +377 98 98 19 62
- Visiting
- Villa Paloma only in 2026 — €6, free on Sundays
The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco is young as an art museum, but it grew out of a collection that is 150 years old. Its two buildings are among the last Belle Époque villas in a city that demolished most of them. This page tells that story. For hours, tickets and access, see visiting the NMNM.
From a local-history museum to the NMNM
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1873–1889 | A first local-history museum of paintings, prints, stonework and ceramics, created after the Vienna World's Fair |
| 1935–1958 | A Musée des Beaux-Arts at the Villa Sainte-Cécile, built on the earlier collection, private gifts and a deposit of contemporary art from the collector Wakefield Mori |
| 1972 | The Musée National de Monaco opens at Villa Sauber, showing Madeleine de Galéa's dolls and automata |
| 2003–2006 | Jean-Michel Bouhours leads the project for a new museum and becomes director in 2006 |
| 2004–2008 | Temporary exhibitions in the hall on the quai Antoine-Ier and in one room of Villa Sauber |
| 2009 | The dolls go into storage. Villa Sauber's first contemporary exhibition, Étonne-moi ! Serge Diaghilev et les Ballets Russes. Marie-Claude Beaud becomes director |
| 2010 | Villa Paloma opens as the second venue |
| 2021 | Björn Dahlström becomes director |
Villa Sauber
Villa Sauber, at 17 avenue Princesse Grace, is one of the last Belle Époque villas in Monaco. In the early 1900s it belonged to the Blanc family, who founded the Société des Bains de Mer and the Monte-Carlo Casino. At that time the shore below it was the "Bas-Moulins" quarter, and the Larvotto beach did not yet exist. In 1904 the London painter Robert Sauber bought it from Edmond Blanc, set up his studio in the west wing and gave the house his name. It looks so much like the Opéra built at the same time that it has often been credited to Charles Garnier, though without proof.
The house changed hands several times: Sauber and his wife sold it, bought it back, and left it to a London police-court charity. In 1969 the State bought it. From 1972 to 2008 it was the doll museum, and from 2009 it was the NMNM's seaside exhibition venue. It is now closed for renovation and extension work, and no reopening date has been published.
Villa Paloma
Villa Paloma, at 56 boulevard du Jardin Exotique, was built in the early 20th century and stayed in private hands until the State bought it in 1995. It opened as the NMNM's second venue in 2010. It has 520 m² of galleries on three floors, and its formal garden on a terrace above the city was designed by Octave Godard, a pupil of the landscape architect Édouard André. While Villa Sauber is closed, all the museum's exhibitions are here.
The collection and the museum's work beyond its walls
The NMNM builds a collection of modern and contemporary art through acquisitions and patronage. It also looks after older holdings, such as the Galéa dolls and works that belonged to the State. Part of it is permanently on show in the city: the museum's programme of works in town places pieces in public spaces and buildings, adding to Monaco's public art.
The museum also runs a wide education programme:
- Les Apprentis collectionneurs, in which children choose works;
- artists' residencies in Monaco schools;
- La Collection voyageuse, which takes works into schools and institutions;
- tours adapted for visitors with disabilities.
The museum is also backed by patrons and by a friends' association, the Amis du NMNM.
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Frequently asked questions
The information provided is for general guidance only. For official procedures, always consult the official sources.
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