We visited the biggest carnival in France and found out that everything is very different there

Whether in Bahia, Pernambuco or Rio Janeiro, the Brazilian carnival has become one of the most famous in the world. It is estimated that the “Wonderful City” alone receives around 1.9 million tourists to take advantage of the season to enjoy the parades at the Sambódromo or the more than 300 blocks spread across the streets of Rio. The tradition dates back to 1840, when there was the first Carnival ball in Rio. The first samba was introduced in 1917.

If you think that Carnival and Brazilians have an old love, then you might be surprised to learn what the festivities are like in Europe. The city of Nice, which is located in the south of France, is proud of its carnival traditions, which began in 1294.

We, from awesome.club, we visited the biggest carnival in France, in Nice, to show how everything is very different from Brazilian traditions — but just as fun. Check out!

Before talking about Carnival in Nice, we would like to make a small introduction about the city, which is the fifth largest in France and is located on the south coast of the country, in a region known as “Côte d’Azur” (Blue Coast, in French). The region’s natural beauty is so impressive that it has caught the attention of renowned painters such as Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse.

It is also one of the most visited regions in France, receiving around 4 million tourists every year — with 1 million visitors during the carnival period.

The Nice Carnival lasts two weeks and the festivities revolve around two main attractions: the battle of flowers and the carnival parade🇧🇷 The best thing is that the city is well prepared for the event and the organization deserves a 10.

At various points throughout the city, it is possible to see posters that show the calendar, times and locations of each event. Close to the city’s main square, where the main festivities take place, there are also people wearing the organization’s uniforms, all willing to help.

While in Rio de Janeiro each block and each samba school has a separate theme, the Carnival of Nice uses a lot of humor and irony to address a certain subject each year. The King of the Arts, the King of Cinema, the King of the Circus, the King of Energy… in 2020, the chosen one was the king of fashionwhich seeks to honor the culture fashion French through floats, giant puppets (known as grosses tetes), flowers, colored lights and confetti… lots of confetti.

As already mentioned, the Carnival of Nice has two main attractions. THE Battle of the Flowers takes place in the afternoon and consists of floats decorated with flowers, 80% of which are produced in the region. Artists wear costumes created especially for the occasion and hand out flowers to revelers.

But the event that attracts the most tourists and revelers is the Parade of Lights, or Parade of Lights. The parade, which takes place at night, is contagious. Unlike Brazil, where samba, marchinhas and axé reign supreme during Carnival, the party in Nice is filled with electronic and contemporary music.

The main square of the city, called Place Masséna, gets an impressive light and color show. The themed floats mingle with giant dolls (but certainly smaller than those in Olinda) and revelers, who perform choreographed dances in the middle of the track.

As the main theme this year was fashion, there was no lack of dolls honoring great designers, and Karl Lagerfeld was certainly the king of the night.

Suddenly, we are impressed with completely unusual allegories such as a giant costume made of balloons, clothes with LED lights, cars that release sparks, opera singers in giant dresses and giant inflatable dolls that literally go on top of the public.

Did you feel like getting to know the Carnival of Nice? Get ready to be showered with confetti and don’t forget to pack warm coats. Speaking of which, this is another big difference between the carnival in Brazil and France. In February, Europe is in the middle of winter. Therefore, it is common for revelers not to dress up (the dress code it’s more like black overcoats). But of course there are some adventurers, who don’t miss the opportunity to wear costumes.

Would you like to know a little more about the Carnival of Nice? Now, we are very curious to know what the carnival in your city is like. Tell us all the details and leave a photo of you and your friends enjoying the party in the comments!