Palais de la Préfecture, ancien palais des rois de Sardaigne

Palais de la Préfecture, ancien palais des rois de Sardaigne stands in lower Nice, beside the former Dominican church. Its rendered-stone façades and columned windows surround spaces shaped by royal, administrative, and ceremonial use.

The first ducal residence rose here after 1543, and construction of a new palace began in 1571. By 1675, three buildings formed a U around a courtyard opening onto gardens. French troops damaged the building in 1792, while a military hospital occupied it for seven years. Sardinian rulers restored the royal residence between 1818 and 1825, when Jean-Antoine Scoffier rebuilt the vestibule and grand staircase. After Nice joined France in 1860, further works created the grand hall, Jules-Chéret gallery, council chamber, and winter garden.

Today, the prefect and departmental council president use the palace for official meetings. The dining room hosted the signing of the Treaty of Nice in February 2001. Only the carriage passage and Scoffier’s grand staircase survive from the original Savoy palace, while Jules Chéret’s canvases show Nice festivals and carnival.