Christmas 2018 is coming to Nice

Nice is ready for yet another Christmas season. The town council have organised a magical evening to celebrate the start of the festivities next Thursday, November 29th 2018, throughout the city centre.

The lights will be turned on at 18:30 on Thursday and will illuminate the streets of Nice until July 14th. This year, Nice's Christmas lights will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Studios de la Victorine. The city's legendary film studios, which have seen the likes of Woody Allen, Scorsese, Truffaut or Jacques Tati, will be honoured with cinema-themed decorations including a casting studio on Promenade du Paillon and Hollywood-style Christmas arches. New this year, visitors of the avenue Jean-Medecin, the city's main shopping hub, will be able to create their own Christmas illuminations thanks to the free app 'PlayNice', which will be available on the Google Play Store and App Store very soon.

Just like every year, the Christmas Village will turn Place Massena into a magical Christmas wonderland from November 30th until January 1st. There will also be a nine-metre Christmas tree in front of the Pasteur Hospital and a giant Santa Claus on the iconic Promenade des Anglais. The Jardin Albert 1er will host a big wheel, as well as an ice rink, funfair rides for children and a Christmas market. Santa Claus will take up residence on the Theatre de Verdure, where his house will be built, around which there'll be lots of activities for children.

Nice's town council have spent €900,000 on this year's Christmas lights. More than 800 different light decorations and over 320 garlands will decorate the city. Only LED lights will be used and all decorations will be reusable to minimise their environmental impact.