Mimosa Festival in Mandelieu 2027: dates, the corso and a week in yellow

You want a week of sun and colour in the middle of February, somewhere you can walk by the sea in a coat and sit outside for lunch. The French Riviera does that every winter, and for one week the town just west of Cannes turns yellow for it. Here is how the Mimosa Festival in Mandelieu-La Napoule works in 2027, with every date checked in November 2026.

When is the Mimosa Festival in Mandelieu in 2027?

From Wednesday 10 to Sunday 14 February 2027, with the night parade on the Saturday and the flower corso on the Sunday afternoon. The 2027 theme is "Le mimosa entre en jeu", which the town translates as "mimosa takes centre stage". The full programme comes out from the tourist office towards the end of the year.

The festival is old. Mandelieu held its first Fête du Mimosa on 16 February 1931, and the town has celebrated the flower every February since. The tourist office puts the usual scale of the week at 8 tonnes of mimosa, 12 floats, 400 performers, 450 volunteers and around 40,000 visitors over the five days.

Dates and theme from the Mandelieu-La Napoule tourist office; running order and figures from the tourist office's 2026 press kit, checked November 2026. The detailed 2027 timetable was not yet published at the time of writing.

How do the five days usually run?

Quietly from Wednesday to Friday, then two big evenings: the lit parade on Saturday and the corso on Sunday. The town publishes a fresh timetable each year, but the shape barely changes. Here is the 2026 running order, which is the best guide to 2027 until the new programme appears.

• Wednesday. The chapel of Notre-Dame des Mimosas is decorated in the morning. The children's carnival takes over the Place de France at 3 pm. An inaugural concert closes the day.
• Thursday. The election of Miss Mandelieu, an evening event at the congress centre.
• Friday. A large open-air banquet on the Avenue Henry Clews from 6 pm, then fireworks over the bay at 8 pm, followed by a DJ set.
• Saturday. The festival village opens on the Place de France at midday, with a makers' market around the flower. At 6.30 pm the night parade leaves Capitou, the old growers' quarter, and winds down to the town centre with the 12 lit floats, troupes and concerts.
• Sunday. Street music on the Avenue Henry Clews from 11 am, then the grand corso fleuri at 2.30 pm, with the floats covered in fresh mimosa and the flower battle at the end.

In 2026, a grandstand seat for the Sunday corso cost 19 €, or 16 € for children aged 3 to 17 and groups of 20 or more, with booking through the tourist office. Standing along the route was free, and free shuttles ran into town. Expect the 2027 prices to be close to that, and book the grandstand early if you want to sit: the Sunday is Valentine's Day in 2027, and the coast will be busy.

"8 tonnes de mimosa, 400 artistes, 450 bénévoles et 40 000 personnes qui se retrouvent pendant ces 5 jours de festivités." Mandelieu-La Napoule tourist office, 2026 press kit.

Where are the mimosa hills, and when do they bloom?

On the Tanneron hills directly behind Mandelieu, in flower from late December to early March, with the fullest colour in January and February. The Massif du Tanneron is the largest mimosa forest in Europe, and the tourist office puts it at some 5,200 hectares.

This is where the week becomes a trip rather than an event. The hill road from Mandelieu up to the village of Tanneron passes nurseries, forcing sheds and open slopes of yellow, with views back down over the bay. Mandelieu is also the fifth of eight stops on the Route du Mimosa, a 130 km signed route from Bormes-les-Mimosas to Grasse that the regional tourist board recommends from January to March. Tanneron sits at kilometre 112, with a viewpoint over the Alpes-Maritimes and free trails into the mimosa.

If you have a car, give the hills a half day. If you do not, the tourist office runs guided walks and nursery visits through the flowering season. Either way, go in the morning or the last two hours before sunset: in the middle of the day the yellow flattens and the sea haze takes the blue out of the bay.

What else is on along the coast that fortnight?

Two of the three big winter festivals of the Riviera overlap with the mimosa week in 2027, so you can see all three in a single stay. Nice Carnival runs from 9 to 28 February 2027 on the theme "Vive l'Amour", and the Fête du Citron in Menton runs from 13 to 28 February 2027.

Dates from the official festival websites of Mandelieu, Nice and Menton, checked November 2026.

A simple shape for the week: Mandelieu and the Tanneron hills on Saturday and Sunday for the parade and the corso, Nice early in the following week, then Menton. The coastal train links the three towns, and the drive from Mandelieu to Menton takes about an hour and a half outside rush hour. Our guides to where to watch Nice Carnival and the Fête du Citron in Menton cover tickets and the best spots for each.

What is the light like in February, and when should you shoot?

Low, warm and short. The sun sets just before 6 pm in mid-February, so the best hour for photographs is the last one before that, and the hills face it. February is also one of the clearest months on this coast, with the winter wind having scrubbed the haze off the sea.

Sunrise and sunset times for Nice, local time, computed for 2027 and checked November 2026.

Mimosa photographs well for two reasons. The yellow is saturated enough to hold its own against the blue of the sea, and the trees sit at head height, so you stand among the flowers rather than under them. Wear something plain in cream, navy or camel and let the hills do the colour. Our guide to what to wear for a photoshoot on the French Riviera has the full list, winter included.

How does a photo session work during the mimosa week?

Away from the parade, in the hills or on the seafront, in the last ninety minutes before sunset. The corso itself is a crowd event, with 40,000 people over the week, and the best pictures of you will not be taken in the middle of it.

Riva Photography is a private photography agency for the French Riviera, working only on the most exclusive stretch of the coast with a small circle of high-end photographers. A session in mimosa week usually follows this order.

• You write to us on WhatsApp with your dates and where you are staying. For the mimosa, we suggest the Tanneron hills on a weekday afternoon, when the lanes are empty, or the seafront at La Napoule below the château.
• The session runs from 30 minutes to a full afternoon. A couple visiting for Valentine's weekend tends to choose one hour, one place, with a change of coat halfway through.
• A first selection of edited photographs arrives within 48 hours, so they are with you before you fly home.

If you are staying in Cannes, the hills are twenty minutes away by car and the photographer can meet you at your hotel. Our Cannes photographer page shows what the coast looks like in the photographs, and the French Riviera in winter explains what is open and what is not in February.

Is the Mimosa Festival worth planning a trip around?

Yes for the weekend of 13 and 14 February 2027, if you like a small-town festival with real flowers and a sea view. No if you are looking for the scale of Nice Carnival; go to Nice for that and keep Mandelieu for the Sunday.

Reasons to go

• The only festival on the coast built around a flower that grows on the hills above the town, in bloom at exactly that moment.
• The Sunday corso falls on Valentine's Day in 2027, with Nice Carnival and the Fête du Citron running the same fortnight.
• Free standing areas, free shuttles and a town small enough to walk.

Reasons to think twice

• The detailed 2027 timetable and grandstand prices were not published at the time of writing. Check the tourist office in December.
• Days are short, with the sun down before 6 pm, so the hills are a morning or late-afternoon plan.
• If the winter is warm, the bloom can peak before the festival; if it is cold, the hills can still be green in early February.

If you would like a photo session in the yellow, in the hills or on the seafront, write to us on WhatsApp with your dates. We will suggest a place and an hour that fit the light and the week.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Mimosa Festival in Mandelieu in 2027?

The Fête du Mimosa in Mandelieu-La Napoule runs from Wednesday 10 to Sunday 14 February 2027, under the theme "Le mimosa entre en jeu". The night parade is on Saturday 13 February and the flower corso on Sunday 14 February, which is Valentine's Day. The detailed timetable is published by the tourist office towards the end of 2026.

Is the Mimosa Festival free?

Most of it is. The children's carnival, the festival village, the night parade and the standing areas along the Sunday corso were free in 2026, with free shuttles into town. Grandstand seats for the corso cost 19 € for adults and 16 € for children aged 3 to 17 in 2026, booked through the Mandelieu-La Napoule tourist office. 2027 prices were not published at the time of writing.

When does the mimosa bloom on the French Riviera?

From late December to early March on the Tanneron hills behind Mandelieu-La Napoule, with the fullest colour in January and February. The Massif du Tanneron is the largest mimosa forest in Europe, at around 5,200 hectares, and sits on the 130 km Route du Mimosa between Bormes-les-Mimosas and Grasse.

Can I see the Mimosa Festival, Nice Carnival and the Fête du Citron in one trip?

Yes, in 2027. The Mimosa Festival runs from 10 to 14 February, Nice Carnival from 9 to 28 February and the Fête du Citron in Menton from 13 to 28 February. The three towns are linked by the coastal train, and Mandelieu to Menton is about an hour and a half by car.

What is the best time of day for photos during mimosa season?

The last hour before sunset, which falls just before 6 pm in mid-February 2027, or the first hour after sunrise around 7.30 am. The low sun warms the yellow and keeps the sea blue. In the middle of the day the colour flattens and the haze over the bay takes the depth out of the view.

More reading: the French Riviera in winter, the Fête du Citron in Menton, and where to watch Nice Carnival.

Written by

Paul Compain

Paul Compain founded Riva and writes the studio journal. He plans the sessions the team photographs across the French Riviera, from Saint-Tropez to Menton.