Halloween has grown in popularity in France and the Côte d’Azur with lots of options for fun family-friendly activities before and during this year’s Halloween date, Sunday 31st October.
Trick-or-treating from house to house isn’t that popular here compared to overseas, with children mostly going around village shops and towns.
Halloween in France always falls during the Toussaint school holidays so you can be sure of finding something to see or do that suits most ages. The day after Halloween is Toussaint’s Day (All Saints Day), 1st November, and on this day French people traditionally visit cemeteries often taking chrysanthemums and praying for their deceased relatives and saints (This is why leading up to Halloween in France you will see lots of chrysanthemums for sale at florists and supermarkets).
This isn’t an exhaustive list as there’s not as many Halloween events happening this year, but here are a few options for Halloween 2021 on the French Riviera:
Antibes
Antibes usually has an informal trick-or-treat walk around whereby local children wander around the old town stores on 31st October asking for candy. Because Halloween falls on a Sunday, I think there won’t be too much happening in old town Antibes for families, however the Blue Lady Pub has a Halloween day starting from 3pm.
Cannes La Bocca
Fun City is an indoor play venue that’s good for rainy days or when your kids need to burn off energy. Their Cannes La Bocca venue is holding a Halloween night with disco.
Details:
Fun City Halloween 2021
Friday 29th October from 7.30pm to 11.30pm
Kids: €20 each including entry to Fun City play zones, disco and kids menu (nuggets, crepe, candy)
Adults: €22 each as above with adult food option being lasagna and tarte au citron or chocolate tart.
Tickets: Pre-book online here: https://fun-city-cannes.qweekle.com/shop/fun-city-cannes/multi/halloween
Le Rouret
Little monsters from 3 years of age upwards can head along to an afternoon Halloween party at the Thêatre du Rouret with a fancy dress ball, games and Halloween gouter.
Details:
Le Rouret ‘Bal des Petits Monstres’ 2021
Sunday 31st October from 3pm to 5pm
Kids: €5.99 each
Adults: €3.99 each
Tickets: Pass sanitaire is obligatory for 12 years and up. Reserve your place online: https://www.weezevent.com/halloween-32
Mougins
The Musée d’Art Classique Mougins is having a Halloween day from 11am to 5pm on Sunday 31st October. Kids under 10 years are free, kids from 10 – 17 years are €5 and adults are €14. Bon bons for kids in costume! No pre-reservation is possible but there will be limited entry due to social distancing. More info here: https://www.mouginsmusee.com/fr/2021/10/halloween-au-macm-2021
Nice
Théâtre Alphabet, 19 rue Delile, is hosting a theatre show for small kids on Thursday 28th October. The show is in French language, duration is 40 minutes.
While the popularity of the Hard Rock brand has dwindled over the past few decades, Hard Rock Café in Nice is a good option for families as there’s lots of neon and cool stuff to look at and plenty of room for large groups.
Other than some epic music industry memorabilia at their Nice restaurant such as James Brown’s suit, a drum kit from Guns n Roses and Michael Jackson’s fedora from Smooth Criminal etc, every year they host a family-friendly Halloween party.
They’ll be throwing a ‘Harry Potter’ Halloween party on Saturday 30th October from 9.30am to midday with American buffet breakfast, decorations from the School of Magic, and fun activities with potions and spells.
Details:
Hard Rock Café Nice ‘L’ecole des Sorciers’ Halloween 2021
Saturday 30th October from 9.30am to midday
Kids: 2 years and under are free. 10 years and younger are €14.95 each
Adults: €19.95 each
Note: You need a pass sanitaire to access the venue. You must pre-purchase your tickets in advance for the Hard Rock Café Halloween event; from memory the booking portal adds a €1 fee to each ticket. Buy your ticket here: https://shop.link2ticket.nl/S/Event/A1hXcUMFelpAVg/A1hXcUMFd1hKUA
CitizenKid is hosting a treasure hunt from Hotel Splendid in Nice on Saturday 30th October, split into 2 versions suitable for kids aged 3 to 6 years and 7 to 12 years. The theme of the 1-hour treasure hunt is to interview shop owners to find out who caused the disappearance of a student from the Monster Academy. Kids cost €11 each / accompanying adults €9 each. Reservation is mandatory as you have to choose a session. Book here: https://www.citizenkid.com/evenement/halloween-2021-enquete-academie-des-monstres-a1063437
Parc Phoenix has free entry for children in costume aged under 12 on Sunday 31st October. Join the Halloween activities from 10am to 4pm. https://www.parc-phoenix.org/évènement/grand-escape-game-dhalloween/?instance_id=112
Villeneuve Loubet
Villeneuve Loubet tourism office is hosting a one-hour Halloween treasure hunt on both Saturday 30th October and Sunday 31st October in Villeuneuve Loubet Village. Clues are adapted for 5-7 years and 8-12 years.
Details:
Villeneuve Loubet ‘Jeu Famille’ Halloween 2021
Saturday 30th October and Sunday 31st October (you must prebook to reserve a time).
Families: €10 for 4-5 people, or €7 for 1 adult + 1 child
Tickets: Reservations are necessary, phone 04 92 02 66 16
Teenagers often get left out of the loop at Halloween, but they can still get involved. Hitech 2 Move in Villeneuve Loubet is hosting a Twilight gaming night on Saturday 30th October from 7pm to 10pm. More info is available on via their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Hitech2Move
Halloween Workshops
If you’re looking for Halloween ateliers during school holidays, take a look at:
- Médiathèque of Monaco who are having story telling sessions and craft workshops. Info here: https://www.mediatheque.mc/default/nos-activites.aspx
- Kidooland have stages de vacances with Halloween themed-activities. Reservation is mandatory: https://www.kidooland.com/stages-vacances-4-16-ans
Halloween decorations and kids costumes on the French Riviera
I’ve become more conscious of waste during yearly events, so I’ve really tried to cut down on buying single-use plastic accessories and individually-wrapped candy for our kids. So, they are allowed to choose a few bon bons so they can join the fun with other kids, but mostly we repurpose or make costumes.
On the Cote d’Azur, there’s plenty of stores such as Carrefour, MaxiBazaar, Destock, GiFi, La Foir’ Fouille and Maximart that sell Halloween decor and items such as trick or treat bags, skeletons, tridents, cauldrons etc, however it’s great to see parents reconsider their purchases long-term and try and make their own costumes or use recycled items for Halloween decorations/outfits.
If you want to make your own eco-friendly Halloween decorations and costumes A Clean Bee has some nice ideas. For other DIY Halloween costumes, check out Pinterest, Good Housekeeping and Instagram. There’s also loads of cool ideas for healthy Halloween snacks on Pinterest and Instagram if you feel like your kids might overdose on sugary treats.
For carving pumpkins on the Côte d’Azur, try your luck at Grand Frais, Nice Carrefour TNL or LIDL.
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