The Nice Carnival is a yearly winter event that dates back to 1873. The theme this year was “King of the Oceans.” When I went, I did not pay for a ticket, so my friends and I walked through the village and parks for free, observing the costumes, sculptures, and activities that were going on. Rumor has it that you can get a free ticket to the shows if you are in costume, but we didn’t end up doing that. 

King of the Oceans sculptures at the Nice carnival. 

With different sculptures around town, it was funny to see this Prince sculpture and other American icons. 

Snack break on the beach with a pistachio croissant. 

Visiting the carnival gave us an opportunity to explore the beautiful city and hike up to the Cascade before sunset for an amazing view of the city. If you wait long enough, you can even see the floats from above. 

The view of Nice from the Cascade at sunset. 

The next day, we took a train to Menton for the Fête du Citron (Lemon Festival). Personally, this was my favorite part of this weekend trip. 

Menton’s lemon festival mascot, John Lemon, and I. 

Alien invasion lemon and orange sculpture in Menton. 

Alien from the movie, Alien, in citrus sculpture form. 

The theme was Journey to the Stars, and it has been a tradition since 1934. We didn’t buy tickets to this one either, but it was definitely worth the trip. The giant sculptures and lemons and oranges are open to the public. There were booths that sold all things lemon, and many of the nearby stores celebrated the fruit as well. There was lemonade, lemon cake, lemon-infused olive oil, lemon perfumes, and much more. 

Spaceships and ballerina sculptures at the lemon festival. 

Me in the orchid showroom at the lemon festival. 

Citrus markets were all around during the festival. 

We also got to go sit on the beach for a while. Both the beaches in Nice and Menton offer breathtaking views of the beautiful blue sea. In Nice especially, lots of people have their lunch on the beach. We grabbed pistachio croissants and did the same. It’s a very nice spot for a picnic, and there are rocky beaches, so no mess from the sand. There was an orchid display that we paid two euro to see. It wasn’t a must-see, but it was fun and smelled amazing. Overall, I thought this trip was so much fun and felt there is enough to see from the carnivals without buying tickets if you also spend time exploring the cities.