Musée Paul-Valéry
City museum of Sète on the slopes of Mont Saint-Clair, facing the Cimetière marin, devoted to fine arts, Paul Valéry and popular traditions.
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Over het museum
The Musée Paul Valéry is a museum of the city of Sète, built on a terrace of Mont Saint-Clair overlooking the Cimetière marin, where the poet rests, and the Mediterranean. The architect Guy Guillaume designed it in the early 1970s in concrete and glass, in the spirit of Le Corbusier’s buildings. It opened in November 1970. Major renovation work preceded its reopening on June 18, 2010, with larger public spaces and a new presentation of the collections.
The collections comprise more than 7,000 works. The fine arts include over 730 paintings and nearly 2,900 drawings, with a major emphasis on two 20th-century schools from Sète: the Montpellier-Sète group (François Desnoyer, Gabriel Couderc, Jean Hugo and others) and Figuration libre (Robert Combas, Hervé and Richard Di Rosa). There are also works by Marquet, Dufy, Marinot and Henri Martin, and a graphic arts collection from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Three specific collections complete the ensemble. The Paul Valéry collection, formed after the Second World War through two donations from his widow, brings together more than 1,000 documents and works: manuscripts, including the first manuscript of the Cimetière marin, correspondence, portraits of the poet and drawings by his hand. The Salah Stétié collection, donated in 2017, combines paintings, sculptures, manuscripts and artists’ books. Finally, a collection of folk arts and traditions preserves in particular souvenirs of the joutes nautiques specific to Sète. The gardens host literary gatherings, including the Journées Paul Valéry every September.
Hoogtepunten
- 1970s architecture inspired by Le Corbusier, facing the Cimetière marin
- Paul Valéry collection with the first manuscript of the Cimetière marin
- Painters of the Montpellier-Sète group and of Figuration libre
- Salah Stétié donation: works and artists’ books
- Folk collection on the Sète joutes nautiques
- Gardens with views of the harbor and the Mediterranean
Vaste collectie
- Collections de beaux-arts – More than 730 paintings and nearly 2,900 drawings, including works by the Sète artists of the Montpellier-Sète group and Figuration libre.
- Fonds Paul Valéry – Manuscripts, correspondence, portraits and drawings of the poet, including the first manuscript of the Cimetière marin.
- Arts et traditions populaires – Objects, costumes and images related to the joutes nautiques, an emblematic tradition of Sète.
- Opgericht
- 1970
- Beheerder
- Ville de Sète
- Bezoekers per jaar
- ca. 50.288 (2018)
Toegangsprijzen & kortingen
| Volwassenen | € 6,20 |
|---|---|
| Met korting | € 3,70Young people aged 10 to 18, students under 25, holders of the LIO train ticket dated the day of the visit, Friends of the Musée Fabre |
| Kinderen & jongeren | € 3,70gratis t/m 9 jaar · Free for children under 10; youth rate for ages 10 to 18. |
| Mensen met een beperking | gratisbegeleider gratis · Free upon proof; the companion is also free if the companion is noted on the card. |
| Studenten | € 3,70Students under 25. |
| Groepen | € 4,70 p.p.Groups of more than 10 paying people, by registration three weeks before the visit, 25 people maximum. School groups from outside the city of Sète: €25 per class; schools in the city of Sète free. |
| Admission during the summer exhibition (until November 8, 2026) | € 9,90Youth and student rate: €5.30; groups: €7.90 per person. |
| Guided tour (supplement) | € 1Offered for temporary exhibitions, minimum 5 people. |
| Workshop for young people, by registration | € 5 |
| Workshop for adults, by registration | € 10€15 during the summer exhibition. |
Gratis toegang: First Sunday of each month
The full and reduced rates shown apply outside the summer exhibition; they increase during the major summer exhibition. Also free for job seekers (proof issued less than three months ago) and for Friends of the Musée Paul Valéry outside temporary exhibitions.
Toegankelijkheid
- Rolstoeltoegankelijk
- Lift: geen informatie
- Aangepast toilet: geen informatie
- Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
- Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
- Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
- Rondleidingen in gebarentaal
- Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
- Audiodescriptie: geen informatie
All floors are accessible and the museum can be visited entirely with reduced mobility, according to the Hérault tourist office. Two parking spaces are reserved for people with reduced mobility. Wheelchairs and folding stools are lent free of charge, without reservation, but they cannot leave the museum. There is no guide strip for visually impaired visitors; a guided tour in French Sign Language is organized from time to time.
Kinderen & gezin
Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen
| Toegang kinderen | gratis t/m 9 jaar |
|---|
- Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
The museum offers workshops for children and youth activities, especially during school holidays, by registration. Free admission for children under 10.
Bereikbaarheid & parkeren
Met het openbaar vervoer
Bus line 5
Met de auto
Parkeerplaats aanwezig
42-space car park, including 2 spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility.
- Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
Service & horeca
- Café: niet aanwezig
- Restaurant: niet aanwezig
- Museumwinkel
The Midi là-haut restaurant-café has permanently closed. On-site shop and online shop. The temperature stays constant all year and can feel cool in summer.
Evenementen & zaalverhuur
Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.
Je bezoek plannen
| Rondleidingen | ja · duur ca. 60 min. |
|---|---|
| Audiotour | ja (FR) |
| Aanbod voor scholen | ja |
| Fotograferen | Photography is permitted without flash. |
| Goed om te weten | Guided tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 16:00 during exhibitions, for ages 8 and up, subject to availability. Guided tours on request, in French. Drinking, eating and bringing animals are prohibited. |




