{"id":1002,"date":"2025-04-30T15:57:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T15:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frenchrivieratraveller.com\/blog\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2025-04-30T15:57:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T15:57:19","slug":"whats-on-may-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frenchrivieratraveller.com\/blog\/whats-on-may-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s On May 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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May is a great month to visit the French Riviera! There’s a LOT going on. Pay attention to the dates of the two main events: the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix. Hotel space is at a premium, public transport is crowded getting to and from the events and road traffic is intense. It is exciting though! Read on.<\/p>\n

Nice<\/h2>\n

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May Festival<\/h3>\n

Jardins de Cimiez May 1- to 25<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The month of May in Nice is synonymous with tradition, music, dance and conviviality thanks to the F\u00eate de Mai, an emblematic event which takes place in the gardens of the Ar\u00e8nes de Cimiez every weekend of the month.<\/p>\n

May 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0 festivities begin at 11am with a folk dancing performance followed by bands and more dancing. The May Queen will be elected at 2:30pm followed by more dancing. There will also be games, stalls of traditional Nice products and plenty of food stalls.<\/p>\n

Note that May I is a national holiday in France<\/a> which means that there’s no public transportation whatsoever.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every Sunday throughout May<\/strong> , entertainment takes place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on two stages: the main stage of the Olive Grove and a small stage dedicated to children’s shows. In the gardens, workshops, traditional wooden games, face painting and culinary stands will punctuate the days.<\/p>\n

Highlights include:<\/p>\n

Folk dances with La Ciamada Nissarda, Nice la Belle and Lou Caireu Ni\u00e7art.
\nMusette balls hosted by local orchestras such as the Thierry Noll Trio Orchestra, Les M\u00f4mes de la Baie or Guinguette Chic.
\nPopular bal\u00e8tis for dancing to the sounds of traditional music.
\nChildren’s shows : puppets, ventriloquists, stories and theater.
\nVaried concerts ranging from folk to Nice repertoire.<\/p>\n

Around the festival: evening events and special events<\/strong>
\nAlongside the festivities at the Arena, several \u201c Lu Mai de Nu\u00e8ch \u201d evenings will liven up the districts of Nice from May 2 to 24 : Place Saint-Fran\u00e7ois, Lentulo, Saint-Roch, Gare du Sud, Francis La\u00ef, Gairaut, and Jardin V\u00e9rola will host balls, folk music and refreshment bars to extend the party under the stars.<\/p>\n

Children are not forgotten with the Pichouns May Festival on May 20 and 27 , where more than 1,000 Nice students will dance around the traditional greasy pole.<\/p>\n

New in 2025: gourmet stroll and cultural discoveries<\/strong>
\nThis year, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Cuisine Nissarde label , a free gourmet event based around pan bagnat will be offered on May 4th<\/strong>, starting from the Ar\u00e8nes de Cimiez.<\/p>\n

The Matisse Museum<\/strong> is also joining in the Festival by opening its doors free of charge to residents of Nice<\/strong> and the Metropolitan area on Sundays 11, 18 and 25 May<\/strong> , with fun activities on the forecourt.<\/p>\n

A pillar of Nice culture, the folklore troupe La Ciamada Nissarda<\/strong> is celebrating its centenary this year. Numerous events will mark 2025, including a regional folklore day on May 24<\/strong> at the Ar\u00e8nes , a major anniversary show in October, conferences and an exhibition at the Mass\u00e9na Museum.<\/p>\n

Matisse M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e<\/h3>\n

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Matisse Museum May 7 -September 25<\/h4>\n

The UN Conference on the Oceans will be held in Nice June 9 -13. It’s a prestigious event and Nice will be honoring our marine heritage throughout the summer. The Mediterranean held a constant fascination for Matisse, from his first visit to Corsica in 1898 to his continued visits to Nice between 1917 and 1954. This special Matisse M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e<\/em> exhibition seeks to reconsider Matisse’s work through the prism of the Mediterranean and the emblematic places associated with it. Through a variety of works, including several paintings never before exhibited in Nice, it traces the connections, rituals, and idioms associated with this area of ??civilization and the relationship that Matisse maintained with it. The exhibition will bring together works from exceptional loans, rarely shown in France (MOMA \u2013 United States, St Louis Museum of Arts \u2013 United States and Mus\u00e9e National d’Art Moderne \u2013 Paris). See more about the Matisse Museum.<\/a><\/p>\n

A good time to visit would be on<\/p>\n

European Museum Nights<\/h3>\n

National Museums throughout the Region May 17<\/h4>\n

On this day and into the evening, admission to many national museums is free. <\/strong>(The Matisse Museum is a national museum but the Chagall Museum is not.) There’s also a program of special events in the museums. Check out the program here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fete de Voeu<\/h3>\n

\"Procession<\/p>\n

Place de Saint Fran\u00e7ois\/Eglise de Voeu May 25<\/h4>\n

The\u00a0Fete de Voeu<\/em>\u00a0is a procession and ceremony to honor the “vow of Nice”. In 1832 as a cholera epidemic threatened to engulf the city (again), the administration vowed that if the city was spared, they would build a church to honor the Madonna and hold a procession each year. The church they built was the\u00a0Notre Dame des Graces<\/em>\u00a0(or\u00a0Eglise Saint Jean Baptiste-Le Voeu<\/em>), commonly known as the Eglise de Voeu. In a bow to tradition this annual festival is regularly hosted by Mayor Christian Estrosi. Here’s the schedule this year:<\/p>\n