Winter is the New Summer

The place to be in January: With ski tourism booming elsewhere, why not enjoy summery sunbathing on the Côte d’Azur. Including a view of beautiful bays, a carnival atmosphere, the mimosa blossom and winter hiking trails in breezy linen trousers. Time to relax on the Côte d’Azur.

No one is quite sure who first used the term. But tout Nice knows what it stands for. Carnavaline – a mixture of carnival and adrenaline. It describes quite well the joyful, exuberant atmosphere that takes hold of Nice every February, building and building. Carnavaline is almost tangible in the dressing rooms. Batacuda drummers get themselves warmed up. Stilt walkers grow a little wobbly as they stretch upwards. Dancers and flower ambassadors adjust the creations of long-time costume designer Caroline Roux and flirt with guys in octopus outfits. Hairdressers and make-up artists are at the top of their game, perfecting bold looks, while jokes and laughter hide any nervousness before the big moment.

Mardi Gras festival: a sea of flowers in Nice

A second sea emerges in Nice. This time it is a sea of bright carnations, roses, daffodils, dahlias and lilies. The biggest Mardi Gras festival in the south of France, and one of the biggest carnival celebrations in the world, transforms Nice into a sea of flowers every year. It goes without saying that the florists also work overtime during this period! 3,000 flowers per float, 14 floats that make their way to the highlight of the colourful spectacle, the flower battle – where magnificently fragrant flowers are distributed to visitors.

One can only imagine the complex logistics behind the festival. A new carnival motto is chosen every winter, this year it is​‘King of the Oceans’. Then it’s over to the carefully selected Ymagiers, the artists and illustrators. In the workshops of the Maison du Carnaval in the Riquier district and in the Halle Spada in the Saint-Roch district, the designs gradually come to life as plaster moulds with elaborately painted papier-mâché covers. The festival lasts for two weeks. 400,000 spectators line the famous seafront promenade of Nice, the Promenade des Anglais.

Fête du Citron, Menton: windmills, fairytale castles and a town full of lemons

In the grande finale of the mild winter, the Côte d’Azur party mood extends beyond Nice. A few bays further east, Villefranche-sur-Mer moves its winter bloom to the harbour basin as part of the Floral Naval Combat. In the very east, in the little lemon town of Menton, windmills, fantasy creatures and fairytale castles roll through streets decorated with thousands of citrus fruits, the annual Fête du Citron commemorating the fact that a hundred years ago, Menton was Europe’s largest lemon producer.

Route du Mimosa: a festival for mimosas

Further west and also in February, the Mimosa Festival attracts visitors to Mandelieu-la-Napoule and the Antibes hinterland. On the Côte d’Azur, mimosas are considered a symbol of the winter sun, inspiring parades in the heart of the Mimosa District and chocolate makers like Didier Carrié, who combines the special aroma with white chocolate and lemon.

Late winter is also the perfect time to explore the Mimosa Route. Anyone who visits Bormes-les-Mimosas between mid-January and early March, when the mimosas are in bloom, and sets out on the 130-kilometre-long​‘Route du Mimosa’, will experience an unrivalled abundance of colour – everywhere you look is yellow! Like a large painting, the stone houses of Bormes-les-Mimosas in all shades of ochre stretch up towards the castle, creating a perfect backdrop for the colour explosion of the acacia trees. The same applies to the rugged mountains of the commune of Tanneron behind Mandelieu-la-Napoule. Europe’s largest mimosa forest beckons here, covering the land like a magical golden veil every winter.

Winter is the new summer: It’s just right

Luscious yet mild. This has always been the hallmark of winter holidays in the sun-drenched south of France. The villages and towns on the Côte d’Azur have found their own rhythm. Quiet and calm. Peaceful enjoyment. The thermometer rarely falls below zero in winter, and the lowest average temperature is around eleven degrees in January.

Old towns like Antibes open up to visitors in a very special way, who may well be seen walking through the half-empty alleys in chic fur coats or almost summery outfits. Between the cathedral and Château Grimaldi, at Port Vauban and in the studios of the arts and crafts district on Boulevard d’Aiguillon, life feels easy. There is space for lively conversations about ceramic art and upcoming museum visits, inspiration everywhere. The mountain peaks of the Maritime Alps rising up behind it are covered by a thick blanket of snow well into spring. It is this protective barrier that now turns winter into summer – a virtue of this privileged region that has temporarily receded into the background.

The magic of colours

Photographers know all about it. So did greats such as Renoir, Matisse, Chagall and Picasso. The Côte d’Azur conjures up its very own magic during the winter months. The interplay of light and colour of the deep blue sea, the bright yellow of the blooming mimosas, the ochre tones of the old town houses in cities like Antibes, Nice and Menton, the red cliffs of Esterel immortalised on canvas, it all looks better at this time of year. In the warmer months, haze and heat cloud the view and fade the colours. The mountains bordering the area to the north not only protect the region from storms that rage eastward from the Atlantic, they also give the coast a special microclimate that ensures mild winters and invites you to sunbathe at street cafes at temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius – while the rest of Europe is shrouded in grey clouds.

Amateur gardeners, exotic plants and a Belle Époque villa

Of course, this is not really new, least of all for the amateur gardeners in the region, often eccentric Britons cultivating exotic plants from all over the world here. Anyone who has strolled through the wonderful gardens and parks of Menton and marvelled at the variety of oranges, lemons, mandarins, clementines, bergamots, bitter oranges, grapefruits and other fruits in the Jardin d’agrumes will immediately know what we are talking about. In the middle of January, the Mediterranean breeze greets you with subtle scents. With 137 varieties of citrus fruit from all over the world, the city’s citrus garden is one of the largest collections of its kind in Europe – and is one of many winter oases.

120 metres above sea level, the citrus terraces of La Citronneraie are nestled around a rainwater cistern and the small country house on Annonciade Hill. The trees in Adrien Gannac’s enchanted wild citrus grove at the Maison du Citron grow quite differently – a kind of untamed counterpart to the more orderly citrus world of the Citronneraie. And a visit to Menton’s Jardin du Clos du Peyronnet, a private garden with a Belle Époque villa and gently rippling water staircase, will take you past subtropical plants from all over the world and South African flower bulbs. The Waterfield family from England chose this spot wisely: with 316 days of sunshine a year, Menton holds the French national record.

Winter activities on the French Riviera

The majestic Belle Époque hotels and palaces of Nice tell a similar story: a yearning to escape the wet, frosty and foggy climate of the European winter. When exclusive hotels such as those on Boulevard Cimiez in Nice, where the rich British upper classes once flocked, became the place to be, the Côte d’Azur announced itself as a typical winter holiday destination. The wealthy travelled south from all over Europe, spending entire months here – while many hotels remained closed during the hot summer weeks.

The range of winter activities on offer would, however, have amazed the guests of that era. While it might be too late in the year to catch the final stage of the Tour de France, which passes through the Nice hinterland, options include mountain or e‑biking on the surrounding passes, winter golf or carving and snowboarding in the ski resorts of the​‘Blanc Azur’ domain. These are located an hour and a half away in the village of Auron, in Isola 2000 and in Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage.

The joy of hiking

But closer to Nice, the varied hiking trails in and around the city are very inviting. The sections of the city hiking trail Lou Camin Nissart, a well-marked GR Trail of the Fédération Française de Randonnée des Alpes Maritimes, offer exciting new views of Nice between Mont Chauve and Colline du Château. Meanwhile, the alternative route to the citadel of neighbouring Villefranche-sur-Mer promises picture-perfect views of the intimate marina.

Three winter hiking trails lead across the exclusive peninsula of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Those who prefer to hear the sea lapping on the coast of Cap d’Ail are equally well served by the historic customs path towards Monaco. Here, too, cosy benches invite you to take a breather next to agaves and prickly pears – and, of course, the mild warmth of the winter sun. All in all, these are eternal moments in which the cold season exudes a particularly radiant glow.

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