4 fountains in a public garden near a sculpture

gardens next to a large sculpture housing a library

a square box on the head and shoulders of a statue

Tete Carree

Iconic city library in the centre of Nice also known as 'thinking inside the box'

featured in Sights & Sites

A monumental sculpture standing 28m high, La Tête Carrée looms over one of Nice’s busiest intersections. Meaning “square head”, La Tête Carrée is literally a 14m³ cube with a mouth and chin nested on a rounded pair of shoulders.

Inaugurated in 2002, La Tête Carrée is the work of Sacha Sosno, a French sculptor who spent much time in the company of other celebrated local artists such as Henri Matisse and Yves Klein. It is an iconic building that, at the time, was the first inhabited monumental sculpture in the world. Also titled, “Thinking Inside the Box," the giant square head houses 3 floors of books within the central library, “Bibliothèque Louis Nucera”.

Sitting on the corner of Promenade des Arts, La Tête Carrée looks out over Place Yves Klein from the small but colourful Jardin Maréchal Juin, a public garden crammed full of various bright blooms. Small paths weave in and out of the flowerbeds and there are a couple of other sculptures dotted about.

On the opposite side of the square to La Tête Carrée is a small landscaped area with ornamental fountains and the Acropolis, a large conference and exhibition centre that also houses a bowling alley and cinema.

Look up if you’re passing La Tête Carrée at night, as it is lit from within and you can make out the floors of the library inside.