The Musée des Beaux-Arts occupies a magnificent 19th-century villa that was built for a Ukrainian princess and later given to the city. The collection is strong on 19th and early 20th-century French painting — Renoir, Monet, Sisley — alongside works by the poster artist Jules Chéret after whom the museum is named, and a floor of early Symbolist and academic painting that shows what Impressionism was reacting against.
The building itself is worth visiting: ornate plasterwork, painted ceilings, and a grand staircase make it one of the more opulent small museums on the Riviera. It sits west of the city centre near the Russian Cathedral, easily combined with a walk along the Promenade des Anglais. Free admission on the first Sunday of each month.