Jean Cocteau Bastion Museum

  • Museum
  • Museum of France
  • Municipal museum
Bastion du Vieux Port, Quai Napoléon III, 06500 Menton
The Bastion (small fortress built in 1636) was restored and re-designed in its entirety by Jean Cocteau as the setting for his artwork. The staircase, tapestry, pebble decoration..., everything was imagined by Cocteau himself.Una tappa inevitabile dell''opera di Jean Cocteau.
In 1957, while working on the decorations for the wedding hall in Menton, Jean Cocteau noticed an abandoned 17th century fort: the Bastion.
The mayor at the time, Francis Palmero, suggested that he turn it into a museum of his works and the artist, charmed by the place, accepted. To respect his wishes, the museum now dedicated to him regularly changes the exhibition of his works.
However, Jean Cocteau kept a close eye on every detail of this creation, from the decoration of the doorways on the first floor to that of the frontispiece, not forgetting the floor on the ground floor representing a lizard "symbol of Mediterranean laziness", all three of which were made of pebble mosaics.
Unfortunately, Cocteau never saw his final work in Menton completed: it was his adopted son Edouard Dermit who finished the work according to the directives he had left, and the "Musée du Bastion de Jean Cocteau" was inaugurated in 1966, in the presence of his lifelong friend Francine Weisweiller.
The original collection comprises 102 works, supplemented over time by other donations and acquisitions. In 2005, it was merged with the Wunderman donation to form a collection of more than 2000 pieces.

Musée Jean Cocteau le Bastion. museecoteaumenton.fr. Retrieved from https://www.museecocteaumenton.fr/Musee-Jean-Cocteau-le-Bastion.html

Services

Services

Car park

Rates

Rates

Rates 2025

Rates 2025
Full price
5€

Reduced priceStudents, teachers, large families, persons over 65, on presentation of proof
3.75€

Group adultsProfessional partners, groups of 10 or more
2.50€

Free: every first Sunday of every month.

Payment methods

Payment methods

Payment methods

Bank/credit cardBank/credit card
CheckCheck
CashCash

Openings

Openings

From 4 July 2025 until 17 November 2025

From 4 July 2025 until 17 November 2025
Monday
10:00 - 12:00
14:00 - 18:00

Tuesday
Closed

Wednesday
10:00 - 12:00
14:00 - 18:00

Thursday
10:00 - 12:00
14:00 - 18:00

Friday
10:00 - 12:00
14:00 - 18:00

Saturday
10:00 - 12:00
14:00 - 18:00

Sunday
10:00 - 12:00
14:00 - 18:00

Location

Location

Jean Cocteau Bastion Museum
Bastion du Vieux Port, Quai Napoléon III, 06500 Menton

Spoken languages

Spoken languages
  • Italian
  • English
  • French

Environment

Environment
  • Town location
  • Close to a public transportation
  • Bus stop < 500 m
  • Beach within 300 m
Updated on 05 July 2025 at 12:54
by Office de Tourisme Menton, Riviera & Merveilles
(Offer identifier : 4739684)
Report mistake