One of the best things about living on the French Riviera is the number of free local festivals and events. There are traditional festivals to discover such as Bataille des Fleurs, celebrations for national holidays, food festivals, sports events, music festivals and more.
Many of these are free of charge so you can visit for as long as you wish without pricey admission fees.
Here is a sample of some free family-friendly events in the region from 29 May – 31 May 2015:
Antibes
’50th Rallye Antibes Côte d’Azur’ from Friday 29 May – Sunday 31 May 2015 – previously, this annual car rally departed from Juan les Pins but it will now leave from Pré des Pecheurs at Antibes port. It’s a great free event to watch the rally cars, and get autographs on the Friday.
Race leaves Antibes at 9.30am on Saturday 30 May with the circuit heading to Nice, then up to the picturesque Gréolières area and Col de Bleine. Unless you’re an early bird you’ll have to get there for a 6.30am start on Sunday with the circuit heading to Nice, then Piera, Cava and Col de Turini before returning back to Antibes.
Race programme and map is available for download here: http://forum-rallye.com/index.php?/topic/1091-rallye-dantibes-c%C3%B4te-dazur-2015-2931-mai-cfa/
Cagnes sur Mer
Saturday 30 May 2015 from 10am-7pm – ‘Fête du Jeu’ at Parc des Bugadières, avenue Marcel Pagnol.
Free activities including:
- Educational workshops
- Dinosaur sandpit for fossil digs
- Kite flying
- Galaxy games with R2D2
Free carparking (including 4 disabled spaces), accessible pay toilets, snack kiosk. Take a picnic as there are lots of grassy areas, and take mosquito repellent as the park is beside the river.
For programme details, head to these 2 sites (in French):
http://cagnes-sur-mer.info/agenda/50-fete-du-jeu-a-cagnes-sur-mer-samedi-30-mai-2015
http://www.cagnes-sur-mer.fr/fete-du-jeu/
Parc des Bugadières, Cagnes sur Mer
Golfe Juan
Saturday 30 May 2015 from 10.30am-6pm – ‘Parc Exflora en Fête’ at Parc Exflora, avenue de Cannes
This event has an eco message with activities including:
- Stands and workshops about recycling, planting herbs
- Wooden games
- Baby-gym
- Face painting
- Marionnettes shows
- Quad bikes for kids (surcharge may apply) and entertainment from a jazz band
Carparking is on avenue de Cannes, chemin des Eucalyptus or rue Dulys, or take bus 1 or 8 with Envibus as it stops across from Parc Exflora (the stop is called ‘Les Eucalyptus’). The park doesn’t have toilet facilities, the nearest accessible public toilets are across the road at Square Henri Delaunay. There is an underpass leading from the edge of the park to the sandy beach if you fancy a swim in the sea if it gets hot. Also, the adjoining apartment complex has a few restaurants and 2 supermarkets if you get hungry.
Event information is quite limited but a few more details can be found at these 2 links (in French):
http://fr.calameo.com/read/002074504e17752244bd7
http://www.recreanice.fr/journee-exflora-antibes-animations-famille-environnement
Villeneuve Loubet
Saturday 30 May 2015 from 2pm-9pm- ‘Fête de la Culture’ at Pole Escoffier
Music, theatre, dance, songs, workshops for painting/ceramics/calligraphy
The programme can be downloaded here (in French): http://villeneuveloubet.fr/lagenda_du_moment/moment/article/fete-de-la-culture.html
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