Festivals and Events in Nice, France
Nice Carnival 2026: “Vive la Reine!”
February 11 to March 1, 2026, one of the largest carnivals in the world. The 2026 edition centres a queen for the first time in its 200-plus-year history, with giant illuminated figures, up to 20m tall, depicting historical and fictional heroines including Marie Curie, Simone Veil and Joséphine Baker. Expect flower-covered floats, corsos (flower-themed parades) and the Bataille des Fleurs (Flower Battle).
Fête du Citron, Menton (nearby day trip)
Also February, overlapping Carnival season, a giant citrus-sculpture festival in Menton, roughly 30-35 minutes from Nice by train, worth pairing with a Carnival visit if your dates line up.
Nice Jazz Festival
Reported inconsistently across sources as July 23-25 or July 23-26, 2026 (verify the exact end date closer to your trip), held in Jardin Albert 1er and the Théâtre de Verdure, and by most tellings the world’s oldest jazz festival. The Roman arena at Cimiez also hosts festival dates some years, worth checking if you’re combining a Cimiez museum morning with an evening show.
Bastille Day, July 14, 2026
This date marks the 10th anniversary of the 2016 truck attack on the Promenade des Anglais, which killed 86 people. Nice still holds its Bastille Day fireworks that evening, historically from Quai des États-Unis around 10pm, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying them, but 2026 coverage of the date should acknowledge the anniversary with some care rather than treating it as routine holiday content.
Journées du Patrimoine (Third Weekend of September)
France’s national heritage weekend opens up sites not normally accessible to the public for free guided tours, a good way to see behind doors that stay closed the rest of the year.
Nice’s Harbour Festival, Port Lympia (September)
A food and tasting-focused waterfront festival with concerts around Nice’s historic harbor, a quieter, more local counterpart to the bigger Carnival and Jazz Festival crowds.
Planning a trip around any of these? The main Nice, France guide covers the whole city in one place, and the 4-day itinerary has room to build a festival date into a longer stay. For what to do the rest of the year, see the full guide to things to do in Nice .