Fête du Citron is a festival held during carnival season in Menton, a border town in the south of…read moreFrance that neighbors Italy. The English name of the festival is Lemon Festival. Similar to the festival in Nice, this festival also has a parade. The unique thing about this festival is that they have an event displaying sculptures made with lemons and oranges based on the year's theme. These sculptures vary in size, but they can be a couple of stories tall. I really enjoyed the inventiveness of the sculptures, particularly how citrus fruits were utilized in the art. If you are in the French Riviera during the carnival season, I would recommend attending this event. It makes for a nice day trip to visit not only the festival but also the town of Menton, which has a beautiful waterfront.

The Nice Carnival is one of the more famous carnival celebrations around the world. Though I would…read moresay the one in Rio and Mardi Gras in New Orleans are more renown. I was not planning to go to the carnival when I booked my trip to Nice. It was serendipitous that it coincided with my visit. But also infamous to me now because I attended the one earlier this year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that was just a week or two before it started in France. Attended the night carnival which runs through Place Masséna, the famous city square. This is essentially a parade. Though it is different from the ones in the US, since you need to pay admission to enter. There are a few ticket options. You can buy a seat in the stands or a standing ticket and choose your parade location. Bought a standing ticket online for 12 euro. The event was very crowded and attended by people of all ages including children so it is family friendly. A curious thing about the event was that there were people selling bags of confetti. Carnival goers would then throw the confetti at others, even strangers. By the end of the event, my clothes were filled with confetti. I don't know why this is a tradition, but it has the appeal of a pillow fight. The parade had many great floats and was a huge production full of entertainers. Some notable floats were that of the British royal family, Snow White, Anna Wintour and President Macron. While it was a bit of a bore waiting almost a hour for the event to start, the event itself was fun and festive. It is held usually in February though so I would recommend a heavier jacket even though this is the French Riviera as it can get chilly. With COVID still happening, I have no idea how this event could go on in 2021. Part of the appeal of this event are the crowds. It would be very muted for this event to go on with social distancing. Though once the pandemic is done, I would definitely recommend checking out the Nice Carnival if it times well with your visit.

The flower show during the day is good fun to see. Personally think it's better to get a standing…read moreticket for this. The carnival in the night, is also really enjoyable but reccomened getting a seat for this. Bring your silly string and confetti and enjoy the floats and music! A must do at least once when in Nice.

What a great jazz festival with a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean behind the stage. We were here…read morefor July 14th. We saw the fireworks from our seats. They had two acts that played Jazz beautifully. The first was more classic jazz. The second was jazz with Mongolian folk music, totally different but very good. Then they took a break to change the stage. This is when the fireworks started. You could see them quite well through the opening in the back of the stage. After the fireworks, Electro Luxe began. They are high energy jazz with horns and backup dancer/singers. The lead singer is an old man who was a bit over-the-top with the energy. Ok, your group is all high energy, I get it. But stop pushing the audience to participate. I'm all for a good time just don't force me to have one. My girlfriend said he seemed liked someone who had done too much coke in his life. I hate to say it but it fit. Loved the energy and the style just calm down on the forced fun.