The Combat Naval Fleuri: the flower battle on the water in Villefranche

On one Monday afternoon in February, around twenty of the wooden fishing boats of Villefranche-sur-Mer are covered in flowers, rowed into the middle of the harbour and used as platforms for a flower fight with the crowd on the quay. The Combat Naval Fleuri is the maritime chapter of the Nice carnival, it was created in 1902 and reached its 122nd edition on 16 February 2026, and almost no English language guide mentions it. It is six or seven minutes from Nice by train and ten minutes from Cap Ferrat by road.

What is the Combat Naval Fleuri?

A flower battle on the water. Around twenty traditional wooden pointus, the local fishing boats, are decorated with roughly a tonne of fresh flowers, some sixty thousand carnations, and manoeuvred into the harbour of Villefranche in front of the old town. Crews in costume then throw flowers at the five thousand or so spectators lining the quay, and the crowd throws them back. It was created in 1902 by René Vauquelin as the maritime answer to the flower battles of Nice, and it happens once a year.

It belongs to the wider Carnaval de Nice season, and it always falls on a Monday afternoon in February: 19 February 2024 for the 120th edition, 17 February 2025 for the 121st, 16 February 2026 for the 122nd. Unlike the Nice parades it is entirely free, with no ticket, no reservation and no paid stand.

Figures come from the town of Villefranche-sur-Mer and the Nice carnival programme. Because it depends on small boats in open water, weather could in principle move it, though we found no published procedure for that. Verified August 2026.

Front row, or dry?

On the quay if you want flowers thrown at you, above it if you want to see what is happening. Quai Amiral Courbet, the waterfront of the old town, is the front row: the boats come within a few metres and the flowers land in the crowd. It fills early and it is packed, which is part of the fun and a problem with small children.

The steps and small terraces that climb from the quay into the old town solve that: you keep the boats, the harbour and the ochre facades in one view and you are not in the crush. And the Citadelle, the sixteenth century fort at the western end of the port, gives the wide view over the whole bay for anyone who prefers a panorama to a flower in the face.

Why is Villefranche worth a day in winter anyway?

Because it is the most intact old town on this stretch of coast and it is empty in February. Villefranche sits in a deep natural harbour, one of the deepest in the Mediterranean, which is why cruise ships anchor here. Behind the quay, the Rue Obscure is a vaulted medieval street running under the houses, unchanged since the thirteenth century. The Chapelle Saint-Pierre on the harbour was decorated by Jean Cocteau. And the whole waterfront is a wall of ochre, pink and yellow facades that catches the afternoon sun.

Practically, the town is six or seven minutes by train from Nice and the station sits above the port with steps down into it. Cap Ferrat is a ten minute drive or a bus ride around the bay, which makes this an easy combination: the flower battle in the afternoon, the Cap the next morning.

What does a winter afternoon here give you photographically?

Colour and low sun, which is a combination this coast only offers between November and March. The facades of Villefranche are already saturated, the flowers add a second layer of it, and the February sun sits low enough all afternoon that the light stays workable from about two o'clock until it drops behind the hill.

The February advantage is measurable. The sun stays low all afternoon at this latitude in winter, so the ochre facades hold a directional light from two o'clock until it drops behind the hill, which is three to four straight hours of workable light. In July the same street gives you about forty minutes of it, at either end of the day. Our Nice photography page covers the sessions we run across the bay, and Nice private event photography covers the evenings. Our best photo spots in Cap-Ferrat guide covers the neighbouring peninsula, and where to watch the Nice carnival covers the rest of the same fortnight in the city.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Combat Naval Fleuri?

A flower battle on the water held once a year in the harbour of Villefranche-sur-Mer. Around twenty traditional wooden fishing boats called pointus are covered in roughly a tonne of fresh flowers, manoeuvred into the harbour in front of the old town, and crews in costume throw them at the crowd on the quay, who throw them back. It is the maritime chapter of the Carnaval de Nice, created in 1902, and reached its 122nd edition in 2026.

When does the Combat Naval Fleuri take place?

Always on a Monday afternoon in February, inside the Carnaval de Nice season: 16 February 2026 for the 122nd edition, 17 February 2025 for the 121st. It is free, with no ticket, no reservation and no paid stand, which makes it the opposite of the ticketed parades in Nice.

Where is the best place to watch it?

Quai Amiral Courbet, the old town waterfront, is the front row: the boats come within a few metres and the flowers land in the crowd. It fills early and is packed. The steps and terraces climbing from the quay into the old town give you height, the whole harbour and the ochre facades in one view without the crush, and the Citadelle ramparts give the wide panorama over the bay.

Is Villefranche-sur-Mer worth visiting in winter?

Yes, and it is nearly empty. Villefranche has the most intact old town on this stretch of coast, sitting in one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. The Rue Obscure is a vaulted medieval street running under the houses, the Chapelle Saint-Pierre on the harbour was decorated by Jean Cocteau, and the waterfront facades catch the low afternoon sun. It is six or seven minutes by train from Nice.

More reading: where to watch the Nice carnival, the best photo spots in Cap-Ferrat, and the Riviera cruise port guide, since Villefranche is where the ships anchor.