Nice Carnival

The Côte d'Azur’s wild winter party
Talk of the town: True to its promotion of universality, the theme for Nice's 2013 Carnival is "King of the Continents".

Word to the wise: Visitors will need to pre-purchase tickets from the Nice tourism bureau to get a good vantage point for the parade and flower battles.
For over a fortnight starting mid-February, Nice throbs to the rhythm of Carnival. Joined by more than 1,000 dancers and musicians from all corners of the globe, the culmination of this colourful, gay-friendly festival sees at least 20 elaborately decorated floats work their way along the Promenade des Anglais towards Place Masséna, performing un-missable bataille de fleurs (flower battles) en route.

It may not quite rival the festivities in Rio de Janeiro's famous Sambodrome, but Nice puts on a truly tremendous show, attracting more than one million visitors each year. So book ahead - and look out for flying lilies.