Tourist Attractions & Monuments en Côte d'Azur

This hotel is the most luxurious and best preserved witness of the baroque residences of the nobility and bourgeoisie. Property of the Comtes Lascaris-Vintimille, it was built at the end of the sixteenth century by Jean-Paul Lascaris de Castellar, great master of the order of the Knights of Malta with the help of his nephew Jean-Baptiste. In Genois style, this building is built around two inner courtyards. A very beautiful staircase, real well of light, gives access to the first floor where the weapons of the Lascaris are proudly trashed: a bicephal eagle adorned with a cross of Malta. Original paintings date from the seventeenth century while baroque elements were added in the eighteenth century. The apartments are decorated with vaulted vaults and the ceilings are decorated with frescoes with mythological subjects, including a magnificent Phaéton Fall. During your visit, do not miss the furniture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Flemish tapestries, the apothicecerie founded in 1738 of roquaille style, the complete collection of vases, violes and chevettes as well as the regional collections of art and popular traditions. In 1942, the City of Nice bought the building: fully restored and classified as Historic Monument in 1946, the Lascaris Palace became the Musée de la Musique de Nice and the second of France by the importance of its collection, which gathered around 500 old European pieces from the saqueboute of Schnitzer (1581) to Grafton saxophone (1960). This collection also features many instruments manufactured before 1800: Baroque guitars, luths, violes and Denner's scarcity flute.

Located on Cimiez hill, these arenas are classified Historical Monument. Real open-air archaeological museum, they form an enclosure of 67 by 56 meters and is one of the smallest known Roman amphitheaters in France. Built by the Romans in the first century BC the "Cemelenum arenas" were the scene of many events: gladiator fights, games and other great shows held there regularly in the pure traditions of the Roman Empire. Today, with a capacity that is estimated around 5,000 spectators, they have a beautiful setting to host some Nice cultural and folkloric events. Just next door, the park with the same name is an ideal place for a picnic in the middle of olive trees, close to the Matisse Museum and the Archaeological Museum.

It is obvious that the most famous fountain is that of Puget square! It is an amazing bushy fountain, called Fontaine des Trois Dauphins, designed by the architect Toscat (1782). But the city has almost a hundred like those of Le Panier, L'Intendance, La Fédération, Le Tambourin, La Pigne, La Poissonnerie, Le Globe, La Pucelle, Le Buveur, Le Mûrier and many others...

The portal with sculpted wooden wings of this ancient cathedral, listed as Historical Monument, was made round 1710 by Jacques Dolle. The square bell tower of the 12th century is an ancient watchtower. The choir of the 12th century has also a unique feature in the world: the apse stops vertically because of the presence of the walls at the time of construction. Do not miss the very beautiful altarpiece of Brea, the Virgin of Mercy, or the Virgin of the Rosary. At its right, a sixteen century statue of Christ, carved in the trunk of a lime tree.

It owes its name to the visit of the Russian imperial fleet in 1898. Completely demolished in 1944, it was replaced by massive buildings typical of the 1950s. The famous Atlantes by Pierre Puget support the balcony of the town hall of honor and the statue of the Genius of Navigation, nicknamed the Admiral of Cuverville, is enthroned there, looking towards the horizon. You will find a modern maritime station (renovated in 2013) as well as a multitude of restaurants, bars and stores facing the sea.

In a rampart house, you will find the museum of Arts and Crafts and traditional museum of Prehistory, retrospective of 38,000 years of prehistory tourrettane exposing the heritage found in the caves of Merle and Baume Périgaud dating from the Upper Palaeolithic human remains, ornaments, tools, animal remains....

The square and crenellated tower (of Saracen inspiration) which surmounts this rocky islet was built between 1910 and 1913 (in red stone from Estérel), at the request of its owner, Doctor Auguste Lutaud, self-proclaimed Auguste^1st. Private property, it cannot be visited. According to a local legend, the Golden Island would have inspired Hergé for his album "The Black Island". But "Tintinophiles" are unanimous in refuting this idea: the illustrator, who never came to Saint-Raphaël, was inspired by Scottish castles for the castle of Ben More.

Place Saint-François is named after the Franciscan monastery (13th century), abandoned and demolished during the Revolution. Only a small part of the cloister is left from the Minor Saint-François convent. The clock tower, recently restored, dominates the lively square that host the famous fish market around a small fountain with dolphins from Tuesday to Sunday. The Municipal Palace (former Town Hall), still present and in Turin baroque style, dates from the 16th century: restored several times and classified as a Historical Monument since 1949, it is one of the few public buildings of the old town in baroque style and has housed the Labour Exchange since 1893.