The Palais de la Méditerranée is a true phoenix. Almost destroyed after its downfall, it is today more than ever the symbol of the crazy nights in Nice.

There are legends that reborn from hashes, so is the Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice, one of the finest buildings of current time but it has gone through a lot. Amongst villas French Riviera and mythical palaces, it represents, by its architecture and history, the life style of the region.
Its makers wanted it to be “the most beautiful casino in the world” and 350 workers and almost two years of building did it, in 1928. Charles and Marcel Dalmas, architects from Nice, the financier Franck Jay Gould, the hotel owner Jospeh Aletti and casino operator Édouard Baudoin could congratulate theirselves for having given birth to a palace with bright Art Déco style. Façades, after those of Opéra de Paris, were already the identity of the building. The Palais enjoyed the Roaring Twenties, but only a few times because right after the World War II, it loosed its important artistic style.
It was going from bad to worse for the king of Riviera palaces. It passed from owner to owner, until the rise of Leroux case. It was in 1977, Renée Leroux led the Palais’ casino but by tricks worthy of mafia movies, another casino owner tried to get the job. A game of 30 et 40 made her loose FRF 4 million but she smelled the cheat. Her opponent went far when the own Renée’s daughter, Agnès, voted against her mother at the general meeting of the casino. In exchange, she received FRF 3 million. This money teased the greed and when Agnès disappeared, one of the darkest French criminal affair showed up in newspapers.
In parallel of this case that ruined the renown, after the finances, of Palais de la Méditerranée, the place is literally abandoned. In 1990, all that remained is only the famous façades; the rest has been completely demolished. They have been preserved, classified Historical monument, thanks to the obstinacy of writers and the French Minister of culture Jack Lang. However, people of Nice had to live more than twenty years with those ruins in front of eyes, in the middle of the Promenade des Anglais. The palace reopened only in 2004, thanks to the investment of Jean-Franz Taittinger et participation of group Partouche.
What came out from the ground was even more beautiful than the original, for the local people happiness who recovered their Palais de la Méditerranée. The new palace is now a luxury resort, reaching five stars in 2009, hosting casino, restaurants, solarium with pools and theatre.