Grotte du Lazaret

Nice

A coastal cavity that sheltered, long before Nice existed, more than forty millennia of human life.

Nestled at the foot of Mont Boron in Nice, the Grotte du Lazaret has yielded one of the richest sequences of the Middle Palaeolithic in Europe, with human occupations dated between 170,000 and 130,000 years ago. Excavations led notably by Henry de Lumley uncovered a lithic industry along with faunal remains across a stratigraphic sequence over 8 metres thick. The site is also known for the controversial reconstruction, proposed in 1969 by Henry de Lumley, of a dwelling built inside the cave.

Getting there : Listed historic monument by decree of 21 March 1963; excavations completed in 2014, site developed for visitors since 2017 under the aegis of the Musée de préhistoire de Nice

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound