The Grotto of Lazaret counts, along with the Terra Amata Museum of Human Paleontology and with the Archeology Museum of Nice-Cimiez, as one of the most important archeological sites in Nice, though the Castle Hill area is also worth mentioning in this respect.

Located at the foot of Mont Boron (close to Chateau de l’Anglais), the grotto measures 35 meters in length, with a maximum width of 14 meters. It is one of the main sites which allow archeologists to piece out the history of the human civilization in the region during the middle Paleolithic. The chief highlights of the site refer to findings such as ancient tools made of stone and to animal and human skeletal remains. However, the grotto is also famed for exhibiting a scientifically controversial model of an ancient cabin.

The site is managed by the Departmental Laboratory of Prehistory of Lazaret, the mission of which is to preserve the archeological findings and to disseminate the information acquired on the basis of these findings. The grotto was declared a historical monument in 1963, 13 years after the beginning of the first archeological excavations.

Name:
Grotto of Lazaret (Grotte du Lazaret)
Address:
33 bus, Blvd. Franck Pilatte, 06300, Nice, France
Telephone:
0033 04 9200 1737
Fax:
0033 04 9200 1739
Email:
lazaret@lazaret.unice.fr
Website:
www.lazaret.unice.fr
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