la "maison des nains"

In the centre of Nice, the “Mas du Sablonat” is a small neo-medieval house whose tiny shutters and low entrance have earned it the nickname “the dwarf house,” yet its peculiar scale is only an illusion. Designed in 1926 by architect Paul Trachel, the building’s ground floor was constructed 1.5 metres below street level, placing its windows at pavement height and making the entire façade appear miniature, while the interior proportions remain completely normal. Originally a single-storey structure and later raised in the 1980s, the house retains its characteristic red façade, green shutters and compact silhouette, creating a charming anomaly within the dense urban grid at the junction of Avenue Desambrois and the nearby boulevards. Privately owned and apparently uninhabited, it continues to inspire local legends and attract photographers and passers-by drawn to its curious, fairy-tale presence.