Visit a crypt, discover a ship... underwater archaeology is in the spotlight this weekend in Nice, and it's free!

The Nice Cimiez Archaeology Museum is hosting the 16th edition of the European Archaeology Days until Sunday, June 15, 2025. This year, the City of Nice has chosen the theme of the sea, following the closing of the Ocean Summit.

For this long weekend, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., sixteen workshops on excavations and the sea will be offered in the Cimiez gardens. Each day, a one-and-a-half-hour archaeological walk will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Cimiez Hill. Free and without reservation, it is limited to around twenty participants.

This Sunday at 2 p.m., a guided tour of the exhibition will allow you to discover a series of wrecks.

Beyond the museum

In the center of Nice, near Garibaldi Square, the archaeological crypt on Place Jacques-Toja will be accessible free of charge upon reservation this Saturday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. and tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

At the Lympia port, on the Entrecasteaux quay, visitors will have the opportunity to discover the archaeological exploration vessel Alfred Merlin . Visits, by reservation, will be held this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. "The Merlin is a concentration of technology, designed to intervene quickly at depth thanks to robots capable of going beyond human limits," emphasizes Fabien Blanc-Garidel, head of the Nice Côte d'Azur archaeology department.

“Discover the reality of a profession”

"Our goal is to raise awareness among those who are still unaware that they are damaging things," says Fabien Blanc-Gradiel. "Through the workshops, children and adolescents can discover the reality of a profession that they often idealize by watching documentaries."

The Nice region is full of sunken treasures. "Our divers identify and protect species. They also excavate wrecks, documenting traces from ancient times to the present day, including the Second World War," says the researcher.

Crypt: vah.fr or 04.92.00.41.90

Affred Merlin: [email protected]