Palais de la Préfecture, Prefecture Palace in Old Nice, France.

The Palais de la Préfecture in Vieux Nice is the seat of the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, entered from Place Pierre-Gautier to the south. Its pale stone facade has a ground-level arcade, two floors of round columns forming a continuous loggia with tall windows behind, and a plain top band of smaller windows under a low terracotta-tiled roof. Little of the original Savoy palace remains after 19th- and 20th-century rebuilding.

The building served as a residence for the Dukes of Savoy for 250 years, from 1610 to 1860. After this period, it became the headquarters of the Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture, where it has continued to serve administrative purposes.

The name recalls the Dukes of Savoy, who lodged here from 1559; the future King Victor Amadeus II was proclaimed King of Sardinia in these rooms. The 14 June 1860 handover of the County of Nice to Napoleon III's government took place in the palace salons. The Salle des Fêtes, built 1892–1896, holds Henri Lombard's sculpture "Nice se donnant à la France" and paintings by Leriche and Matton.

The palace is normally closed to visitors but opens during European Heritage Days in September. Check ahead before visiting, as access may vary from year to year depending on administrative schedules.

Of the original Savoy palace, only the vestibule and the staircase of honour survived the rebuilds of 1862–1910; the rest was remodelled by architects Sabatier, Dieudé-Defly and Lucien Barbet. The building was inscribed and partly classified as a monument historique on 3 September 1996.