Nice has been hosting a winter carnival for the last 700 years, traditionally seen as a last chance to eat, drink and make merry before the start of Lent and 40 days of fasting began. From 1294 up until 1872, the carnival was a festive whirl of balls, dances, masquerades and enormous battles carried out on the streets of Nice by masked revellers who threw flour, eggs and confetti at one another. Why should this year be any different?!

The first 'modern carnival' was organised by local man Andriot Saëtone in 1873 and he also founded the 'Comité des Fêtes' which continues to organise the Nice carnival today. He was also responsible for introducing the enormous floats which parade up and down the Promenade both day and night and providing the tiers of seats which line the Prom and Place Masséna for the spectators to watch the action close-up.

In 1882 the first Carnival King, His Majesty «Triboulet» arrived in Nice pulled by a royal float and since then every year a King is crowned who reigns over the carnival for 2 weeks before being taken out to sea and burned, much to the delight of the huge crowds who gather on the beaches to watch the accompanying fireworks. 

The Nice carnival, which is the biggest in France, is also known throughout the world for its famous flower battles, les Batailles des fleurs, enormous processions of floats covered in locally grown mimosa, gerberas and lilies which parade through the streets. Girls from each float (like those pictured above) throw flowers to the crowd, and over the course of the 'battle', tens of thousands of flowers are showered over the spectators.

The Carnaval this year runs from Friday 17th February to Sunday 4th March, and the theme is Le Roi du Sport. So, the countdown has well and truly begun to one of the biggest events on the Côte d'Azur and this year's Carnaval is surely guaranteed to beat those winter blues!

Images courtesy Office du Tourisme et des Congrès de Nice

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