Exhibitions and Cultural Events on the French Riviera in 2026: From Blake and Mortimer to Rock Art

FRENCH RIVIERA – Summer on the French Riviera is about much more than beaches, sea and glamorous destinations. In 2026, the Alpes-Maritimes are offering a rich and diverse cultural programme, taking residents and visitors on a journey from prehistoric times to contemporary art.

The summer programme promoted by the Alpes-Maritimes Department places museums, archaeological sites and cultural venues at its centre, with free exhibitions and events. The initiative is designed to reach a broad audience while highlighting a heritage spanning thousands of years, as well as comics, design, digital innovation and new approaches to cultural interpretation.

From Nice to Tende, with stops at the port and the Lazaret Cave, the summer cultural programme offers visitors the chance to discover the French Riviera from unexpected perspectives, through temporary exhibitions, guided tours, workshops and family activities.

Rock art and prehistory at the Museum of Wonders in Tende

One of the most fascinating destinations for anyone interested in the ancient history of the Alps is Tende, home to the Departmental Museum of Wonders.

To mark the museum’s 30th anniversary, the programme features two exhibitions dedicated to the Valley of Wonders, an extraordinary rock-art site regarded as one of Europe’s most important collections of prehistoric engravings.

The exhibitions “Sorcier & Friends” and “Rocks of Memory. 5,000 Years of Rock Art in the Alps”, open until 31 October 2026, explore the meaning and history of the thousands of engravings found across the area’s rocky landscapes.

The exhibitions are complemented by lectures, guided tours, creative workshops and free activities, making archaeology accessible to visitors of all ages, including younger audiences.

The Valley of Wonders thus becomes more than a destination to visit: it becomes a gateway to the history of the communities that inhabited the Alps thousands of years ago.

Blake and Mortimer meet Japanese art

In Nice, the journey through history takes a completely different direction, entering the world of comics.

From 1 August 2026, the Departmental Museum of Asian Arts in Nice is hosting “Mortimer and Paper Japan – Blake and Mortimer in Nice”, an exhibition created in collaboration with the Edgar P. Jacobs Foundation.

The exhibition explores the relationship between the world of the famous Franco-Belgian comic series and Japanese aesthetics and visual culture, examining the influence of Japan on the series’ distinctive imagery.

The exhibition features 157 original comic panels, previously unpublished documents, ukiyo-e prints and works of art. One of its most spectacular highlights is a large samurai robot, specially created for the exhibition.

The result is an original dialogue between comics, illustration, Asian art and popular culture, appealing both to Blake and Mortimer fans and to visitors interested in Japanese culture.

Post-war French ceramics at Nice Port

Twentieth-century creativity takes centre stage at the Espace Culturel Départemental Lympia, in the port area of Nice.

Until 18 October 2026, visitors can discover a retrospective dedicated to Lilette and Gilbert Valentin, major figures in post-war French ceramics and founders of the “Les Archanges” workshop.

The exhibition brings together more than 100 works, photographs and archival documents, tracing almost five decades of artistic activity and research.

The exhibition revisits a particularly dynamic period in French ceramics, when traditional craftsmanship met formal experimentation and a new approach to design.

The work of Lilette and Gilbert Valentin reflects a commitment to creative freedom and experimentation, helping transform ceramics into an established form of contemporary artistic expression.

Lazaret Cave offers an immersive journey into prehistory

Among the most innovative experiences in Nice’s 2026 cultural programme is the one offered at the Lazaret Cave, one of the Mediterranean’s most important Palaeolithic archaeological sites.

The site features a new immersive 3D mapping experience, developed with the contribution of more than forty French and European researchers. Digital technology recreates prehistoric environments and climatic conditions, taking visitors on a journey through the seasons experienced by the region’s earliest inhabitants.

The experience combines archaeology, scientific research and digital technology, providing new ways of understanding prehistoric life.

The programme also includes hands-on activities such as experimental archaeology workshops, fire-lighting demonstrations, prehistoric painting experiences, torch-lit visits and activities specifically designed for children.

It is an innovative way of bringing archaeological research closer to the public while transforming a historic site into an interactive space for discovery.

Contemporary art and augmented reality at Micro-Folie Nice

The Alpes-Maritimes cultural programme also embraces contemporary artistic languages.

At the Micro-Folie Départementale in Nice, until 5 September 2026, visitors can discover “Interior Portraits” by artist Damien Nicolas Roux.

The exhibition presents twelve illustrations enhanced through augmented reality, accompanied by texts written by author Manuel Crépon.

The result is an interactive experience in which images, words and technology create a journey through memory, imagination and design.

It is another example of the Department’s commitment to broadening the traditional concept of the museum and experimenting with new ways of engaging younger audiences and visitors accustomed to digital media.

Discovering the French Riviera through culture

The 2026 cultural programme of the Alpes-Maritimes reveals a very different side of the French Riviera from the image traditionally associated with seaside tourism and luxury destinations.

The variety of events makes it possible to move between different eras and artistic languages: from the rock engravings of the Valley of Wonders to the comics of Blake and Mortimer, from twentieth-century ceramics to immersive archaeological technology, and from contemporary art to augmented reality.

The programme is also particularly attractive to families, thanks to its workshops, tours and activities designed to make culture accessible and participatory.

Free museums and local heritage: the cultural strategy of the Alpes-Maritimes

The decision to focus on free admission is one of the key elements of the Department’s cultural strategy.

The aim is to make museums and historic sites easier to access, encouraging local participation while giving visitors another reason to explore the region beyond its best-known tourist destinations.

Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes thus become a genuine open-air museum network, where coastline and mountains, archaeology and contemporary art, tradition and innovation coexist within a single cultural landscape.

For anyone visiting the French Riviera in summer 2026, the Department’s exhibitions and events offer an opportunity to discover the region through its memory, creativity and ability to embrace the future.

From engravings carved into rock thousands of years ago to digital images brought to life through augmented reality, the French Riviera shows that culture can be memory, discovery and innovation at the same time.