Palais Lascaris, Baroque palace and musical instrument museum in Nice, France

Palais Lascaris is a baroque residence in Nice's old quarter with well-preserved interior spaces and an ornately decorated staircase. The building spans several floors with period salons that now display a collection of musical instruments from different eras.

The residence was built in the mid-1600s and served as a home for a wealthy local family. The French Revolution marked a turning point in its story when the building changed hands from its original owners.

The palace displays a major collection of musical instruments that reveals how music and sound held importance in aristocratic homes during the 1600s. The instruments show the tastes and interests of the wealthy families who once lived here.

The museum occupies a 17th-century palace in the old town, entered through a vaulted vestibule; the monumental staircase with arcaded galleries leads to the first-floor rooms used for temporary exhibitions and up to the noble floor with the frescoed state apartments. The instrument collection is displayed on the upper level, so allow time to climb and to move between floors.

The collection includes a tenor sackbut made by Anton Schnitzer in Nuremberg in 1581, a rare dated Renaissance brass instrument. It also holds a saxotromba and a quartet of saxophones by Adolphe Sax, showing the range of the museum's holdings.