The architects Yves Bayard and Henri Vidal proposed a very original tetrapod arch with one part on a Paillon side and the other on the axe of the old National 7, between the harbor and the old city with districts developed during the 19th and 20th centuries. The architecture of the museum had to satisfy two components of Nice's urbanism : the urbanism planning and the exotic utopia of the "Belle Epoque".

The monumental image inspired by the principles of Classicism (square plan, arches) are perfectly corresponding to the Garibaldi Square conception. The diverse tons of red-ochre, the wonderful surfaces in Carrara marble, the olive trees nearby give to the city center the feeling of order and peace of the Mediterranean nature. The "Paillon Couverture" in the center of the city is including a museum and a theatre, which form an ensemble called "Promenade des Arts". This crucial implementation in the heart of the city was requesting a development on the vertical, which was realized by the construction of four square towers, having a base of 20 meters and a height of 30 meters. On the exterior they have no windows, but they are connected with glass-made footbridges. The exhibition spaces are distributed on three levels and an extra one with terraces for public access. The first floor houses the temporary exhibitions, the second and the third one are reserved for the collections. There is a total surface of 4000 m2 on three levels with nine halls for exposure.

The terraces are considered panorama points from where people can have a wonderful overview of the town. In one of these, it is presented "Le Mur de Feu" d'Yves Klein, realized with the support from Management of the Museums of France ; it is an edition of a project prepared by the artist for the exhibition in Krefeld from 1961. The front entrance and the shop of the museum are at the same level with the esplanade, the auditorium and the gallery of the museum.

This gallery is around 250 m2. The scheduled programme of the gallery is a little bit different than the one of the temporary exhibition situated at the first floor. The esplanade connects the museum to the theatre on a side and on the other, to the Palais des Congres, offering the possibility of displaying monumental sculptures: Alexander Calder, Mark Di Suvero, Barry Flanagan, Bernar Venet, Sandro Chia, Keith Haring. The signing, in 1999, of a long-term contract with Niki de Saint Phalle had as a consequence the installation on the esplanade of two monumental sculptures : Le Monstre du Loch Ness (1993) and Les Baigneurs (1983). The public very well received this ensemble. The implementation of another monumental sculpture from the American Jonathan Borovsky : L'homme à la valise (1987-1988) offers to the public an immediate image and a clear sign about the content and the vocation of the museum.