Villa Beau Site

Villa Beau Site stands on a steep hillside in Nice, stretching from an upper boulevard toward the lower coastal road. Its terraces overlook the port, the Bay of Angels, Nice, and mountains beyond. Four connected buildings, towers, colonnades, balustrades, and vaulted windows shape the view.

The original structure dates to 1870, then Sébastien-Marcel Biasini redesigned and expanded it between 1885 and 1890. Achille Larrey bought the property in 1882. Corinthian columns, neoclassical terraces, Art Nouveau ironwork, faux wood, and faux-stone cement create its eclectic character. Around 1910, Larrey’s widow added northern land for staff and guest villas.

Gisele Tissier moved in 1948 and filled the house with eighteen harps and three grand pianos. Moving them reportedly required ten railway carriages. The Cure filmed the music video for “Catch” there before her death in 1988. National monument listing followed in 1987, while restoration plans preserve the connected villas and steep landscaped grounds.