The Mimosa Festival is a must among the Winter Festivals on the French Riviera! Every year, in February, the city of Mandelieu La Napoule honors the queen of the Côte d'Azur flowers with a large flower parade and various activities. The festivities take place during ten days in an atmosphere marked by the perfume of these delicate sunny blooms.
The town of Mandelieu La Napoule near Cannes is nestled between the Esterel massif and the Tanneron massif which bears a majestic forest of mimosas.
The Mimosa imported from Australia to the French Riviera by English botanists in the early 19th century, has long flourished in the Mandelieu area.
This delicate flower, nicknamed 'the winter sun', is so dear to the hearts of Mandelieu and Napoleon people that they have dedicated a festival to it since 1931!
The Fête du Mimosa of Mandelieu La Napoule takes place every year in February, during the period of carnival corsos.
The Mimosa has been blooming in the Esterel and Tanneron massifs since the mid-19th century.
European aristocrats (especially British and Russian), seduced by the gentle way of life of this region, were the first to adorn their gardens with it.
Two years after the frost and snow of February 1929, the First Mimosa Festival of Mandelieu La Napoule was organized on February 16, 1931, to celebrate the perseverance of Mimosa growers and the rebirth of this flower in the region.
This festival is one of the oldest local traditions: it continued until 1986, then was revived in 1996.
Today, the cultivation of the Mimosa mobilizes a dozen local mimosa growers and a hundred producers in the vicinity of the city. 8 million bouquets are shipped by local growers around the world.
The mimosa enthusiasts in the various associations of the city perpetuate this traditional festival by decorating the floats voluntarily during the night before the Grand Corso.
The Mimosa Festival of Mandelieu La Napoule celebrates the renewal of the flowering by a great corso fleuri (on a different theme each year) including brass bands, folk groups and floats animated and decorated with mimosa.
Shows and entertainment are organized in the city, as well as a lit corso and the election of the 'Queen of the Mimosa'.
This year, the Mimosa Festival returns to Mandelieu-La Napoule from February 8 to 12, 2023 with the theme of The Great Race Around the World, inspired by the famous Blake Edwards film.
Here is the detailed program of festivities for the 2023 edition:
- Wednesday, February 8, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Children's Carnival - Place de France
- Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.: Inaugural concert - Notre Dame du Liban Church
- Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 8:00 pm: Gala dinner - Centre Expo Congrès
- Friday, February 10, 2023 from 6:30 pm: big banquet and fireworks - La Napoule
- Saturday February 11, 2023 at 2pm: Miss Mandelieu election - Expo Congress Center
- Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 6:30 pm: Night Parade - Departure from Capitou district
- Sunday February 12, 2023 at 2:30 pm: Grand Corso Fleuri - La Napoule
Guided walks 'Au Pays du Mimosa' are organized every day from February 8 to 15, 2023 from 1:30 pm to 4 pm (except Sunday February 12 at 9:30 am).
You will find more information on the website of the Tourist Office of Mandelieu La Napoule below.
Author Audrey on 18 October 2023
Travel and Tourism : Guide and directory
Author Audrey on 28 December 2022
Travel and Tourism : Guide and directory