Le Régina is the address with the greatest weight of history in Cimiez: the former Excelsior Hôtel Régina, built in 1896-1897 by the architect Sébastien-Marcel Biasini, inaugurated by Queen Victoria’s stay in the spring of 1897, converted into an owners’ association in 1937 and listed as a historic monument by the order of 6 July 1992. Henri Matisse set up his studio there in 1938.
Photo Al*from*Lig, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Le Régina in brief
The address
Number 71 boulevard de Cimiez sits high on the hill, close to the monastery, the gardens and the Matisse museum. You look down on the city, the centre is about ten minutes away by car, and you enjoy the greenest setting within Nice itself.
From the Excelsior Régina to an owners’ association
The palace was commissioned by Antonin Raynaud and built in 1896-1897. Queen Victoria effectively inaugurated it by staying there from 12 March to 28 April 1897, in a western wing arranged for her with its own entrance. Renamed Hôtel Régina in 1920 and bankrupt in 1934, the establishment was converted into an owners’ association in July 1937: the four hundred palace rooms then became 78 apartments and 23 service rooms.
What the historic-monument listing protects
The order of 6 July 1992 lists — rather than classifies — the elevations, the roofs and the terraces, the grand hall, the ceremonial staircase, the veranda, the garden and the monument to Queen Victoria. In practice: works affecting the protected parts fall under a specific consent regime, and the Architecte des Bâtiments de France is consulted.
What sort of apartment will you find at Le Régina?
The national register of owners’ associations records 141 lots today. Supply is dominated by large apartments — the sales published below concern flats of 111 to 255 m² — inherited from the division of a palace: exceptional ceiling heights, unusual layouts, original decorative schemes in some lots.
What makes the value here: the view and the aspect, the survival of original features, the state of renovation and the real feasibility of any works given the historic-monument regime. A buyer needs to take that framework in before planning a project.
The most recent published sales at Le Régina
Here are the three most recent sales published for this address in the official property transaction database.
- January 2026 — €612,250, 111 m², 3 main rooms, no ancillary lot, i.e. €5,493/m².
- October 2025 — €2,079,800, 255 m², 5 main rooms, 2 ancillary lots sold with it, i.e. €8,156/m².
- July 2025 — €805,000, 152 m², 4 main rooms, no ancillary lot, i.e. €5,288/m².
These figures come from the French public property transaction database (Demandes de valeurs foncières, published by the tax authority), which is fed by notarial deeds and released several months in arrears. The amount shown is the price stated in the deed, before notary fees and transfer duties: depending on whether the agency’s commission was payable by the seller or the buyer, it may or may not be included.
They tell you nothing about the floor, the aspect, the view, the condition of the property or the quality of any renovation. The price also covers the whole transaction: where a garage, a cellar or a maid’s room was sold with the apartment, the price per square metre shown is mechanically inflated — which is why we state the number of ancillary lots. We exclude transactions whose price per square metre falls plainly outside the market (dismemberment of ownership, sales between related parties).
Two apartments of identical size in the same building can change hands at very different prices. These sales give an order of magnitude; they are not a valuation. To find out what a specific property is worth, ask us for a valuation.
What sets the price of an apartment at Le Régina
Le Régina trades at the top of the Cimiez market, with considerable gaps from one lot to another: the published sales range from single to triple per square metre. On this kind of asset the average means nothing — condition, view and volume make the price.
Our properties for sale nearby
We market apartments at Le Régina and across Cimiez. Properties at this address are not always advertised: some sales are handled confidentially.
You can also browse all our properties in Nice.
Your contact for this address
Déborah Hassan-Ghnassia
Senior consultant, terrazzo.immo
Déborah covers the hill of Cimiez and its former palace hotels. For a valuation, to work through a renovation project in a protected setting, or to be told when a lot comes to market, Direct line +33 6 24 54 46 53, or the agency on +33 4 89 15 85 83.
Frequently asked questions about Le Régina
Is Le Régina a classified historic monument?
It is listed (inscrit), by the order of 6 July 1992, not classified (classé). The two regimes are distinct: listing requires prior notification of works on the protected parts, classification goes further. The protection covers the elevations, the roofs, the terraces, the grand hall, the staircase, the veranda, the garden and the monument to Queen Victoria.
Can an apartment be renovated?
Yes, but within a framework. Work touching the protected parts falls under a specific consent. That point is to be settled before the offer, not after: it governs both the budget and the timetable.
Did Matisse really live here?
Henri Matisse moved in in 1938 and occupied a large studio apartment. It is an element of the building’s history, not an argument for value in itself: the value of a lot is built on its condition, its view and its volume.
What is my apartment at Le Régina worth?
With a handful of sales a year on lots that are all different, no average per square metre is usable. We carry out a free and confidential valuation, on site, lot by lot.
Let’s talk about your property
A free, on-site and confidential valuation, based on the sales actually recorded at Le Régina and across Cimiez.
Further reading
- Property in Cimiez
- Le Majestic, 4 bd de Cimiez
- Le Winter Palace, 82 bd de Cimiez
- Property valuation in Nice: what really sets the price
- Selling your property with terrazzo.immo