CEMENT HILL

After serving as a defensive place for centuries because of its height, the hill at Ruins takes its letters of nobility in the th century with the development of winter tourism. In fact, this district develops from the 1880 s under the impetus of the arrival of the aristocrats and English crowned heads. This tourist development is favoured by the annexation of Nice to France by Napoleon III and by the arrival of the railway that désenclave Nice, and links it to many cities in Europe.

This new population, made up of the largest European fortunes, favours a large real estate boom. Indeed, staying in Nice for long stays most often, these aristocrats have accommodation needs, and hotels of the Promenade des Anglais are no longer enough. A large urban project is then launched and it is decided to build a luxury residential area on the hill of Ruins, then covered with farms and fields of olive trees. Henri Germain, then the director of Crédit Lyonnais, who became the sponsor, is sponsoring most hotels and palaces. He appealed to the services of his friend, the architect Sébastien Marcel Biasini very much in vogue at the time. The stones are extracted from the quarry at the level of the Carabacel district.

The district of Ruins is built around a triumphal path, the boulevard of Ruins, a former Roman path leading to the ancient city of Cemenelum. Surrounded by plane trees, as is the tradition since Louis XIV, the avenue is crowned by the hotel at the Regina Palace. Along the boulevard, you can enjoy different architectural styles, ranging from neoclassical rigour to various eastern influences, through the revision of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI style. From the First World War, the neighborhood sees its prestige decline. The fortunes of the European aristocracy are being damaged by the war and most of the winterers are leaving the Côte d'Azur. The hotels are then divided into apartments and sold. Now the district no longer lives at the rhythm of the splendour of the Belle Epoque and becomes residential. However, today we can admire the numerous palaces preserved in the state, witness to this prosperous period of Nice history.