On a recent trip to the Cote d’Azur I paid a visit to La Colombe d’Or (la-colombe-dor.com), a fusion of hotel, bar, restaurant and art gallery.

Set within the medieval village of Saint-Paul de Vence, La Colombe d’Or (The Golden Swallow) started out in 1920 as a small café and B&B run by an art loving family. By 1940 La Colombe d’Or had become the ‘free zone’ where thinkers, architects and artists would meet to discuss ideas and exchange art to cover accommodation and meal costs.

By the 1950’s the B&B had expanded into a hotel with a growing art collection of barter contributions from the likes of Miro, Cesar, Braque, Chagall, Leger, Matisse and Picasso.

Today, La Colombe d’Or continues to build it’s art collection with new global talent and surely there is no better way to experience art in such an informal way, helped along with some great food and wine while spotting which global creative icons are in town. The A2 sized menus are a piece of art in themselves too.