Palais Lascaris
Palais Lascaris is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Nice audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type palace
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Nice Nice guide
About Palais Lascaris
A hidden Baroque palace in the old-town lanes, its grand staircase and frescoed ceilings unchanged since the 1600s, now home to one of France's great collections of historical musical instruments.
The Palais Lascaris is a 17th-century aristocratic palace in Vieux Nice, built in the first half of the 1600s for the Lascaris-Vintimille family and the finest monument of the city's civil Baroque. Behind a plain old-town façade it hides a monumental grand staircase and salons with frescoed and stuccoed ceilings. The city of Nice bought it in 1942, restored it, and opened it as a museum in 1970; since 2011 it has displayed one of France's most important collections of historical musical instruments, more than 500 of them, described as the country's second-largest after the Musée de la Musique in Paris, built around the bequest of the Nice collector Antoine Gautier. Classed a historic monument in 1946, it lies within the historic city of Nice.
Did you know? Behind a plain old-town doorway, the Palais Lascaris hides the grandest private interior in old Nice: a sweeping ceremonial staircase and salons painted with gods and clouds, built to impress visitors in the 1600s.
How long should you spend at Palais Lascaris?
Plan about ~30 min at Palais Lascaris. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Palais Lascaris worth visiting?
Palais Lascaris is one of the 18 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Nice, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Nice
Hear the story of Palais Lascaris
Preview the Nice tour free in the Gingerguide app.