The French Riviera, the Menton Lemon Festival & the Battle of Flowers Carnival in Nice

Thursday Day 1: Flying directly to Nice, you will be met at the airport and escorted on the short transfer to your hotel in the centre of Nice (approx. 20 minutes transfer time). A hotel group dinner is included tonight.

Friday Day 2: Buffet breakfast included. Today we travel by coach along the coast to Menton for the 91st Lemon Festival, which has a different theme each year. We begin here with an included visit to the Jardin des Biovès which during the Lemon Festival, is the central stage for an array of static sculptures designed to the annual theme, covered and made from thousands of oranges and lemons. This is a truly spectacular sight and is the centre of the Lemon Festival’s activities during a 3-week period, when thousands of visitors, flock to the picturesque coastal town of Menton for this spectacular event. You might also like to visit the Orchid Festival (free entry) near the Bioves gardens, arranged by the Association of Orchidophiles of France. There will be free time afterwards to explore this ‘Pearl of France’. Take a stroll along the seafront to the harbour via the pedestrianised shopping streets to the old town. Here you may see the incredible market under the arches, ochre façades with pale louvred shutters, bell towers with glazed tiles, a maze of stairs and the winding alleys cascading to the shore-line, all part of old Menton's historic charm.

Departing mid-afternoon, a stop will be made in Eze for an included brief guided tour of the perfume factory & laboratory of Fragonard, where some of their products are made including perfumery, soaps and cosmetics. Here, you will learn about the manufacturing secrets, involving the best natural raw ingredients and a high degree of know-how, combined with craftsmanship and modern techniques. Returning to Nice, dinner is at your leisure tonight.

Saturday Day 3: Buffet breakfast included. This morning is free to explore Nice city centre on foot. The Old Town is living proof of its history and is dotted with manor houses in the purest baroque tradition. A visit to the Flower Market is a ‘must-see’ with a range of local produce + food products, as well as an abundance of colourful flowers. Take a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais (seafront) and relax with some refreshments al fresco. Meeting at the Place Massena at 1.30pm for one of the Carnival’s highlights, the traditional flower parade, ‘Battle of Flowers’, a 90-minute event including pre-booked Grandstand seating. Floats decorated with floral compositions form an elegant procession, where characters in extraordinary costumes, music, scents and colours mingle for the pleasure of onlookers! This event is staged on the same theme (tbc) as the Carnival floats. Following this event (finish time 4pm), the remainder of the afternoon & evening is at your leisure, as is dinner. You will make your own way back to the hotel on foot.

Today begins with an included 50-minute petit-train journey to Castle Hill, with a brief stop to admire the superb panoramic view of the entire Baie des Anges before returning to the city centre.

The next included visit is to the nearby stunning Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild with an audio guided tour.

Built on the narrowest part of the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat promontory above Nice, this sumptuous palazzo, one of the finest listed buildings on the French Riviera, has magnificent views over the Bay of Villefranche on one side and the Bay of Beaulieu on the other.

The Villa is surrounded by nine magnificent gardens with patios, waterfalls, ponds, herbaceous borders, shady paths and rare trees. The water fountains play to music throughout the day, making this a very relaxing visit. A 2-course set restaurant lunch with wine and coffee can be pre-booked here whilst enjoying stunning views over the Bay. This evening + dinner is at your leisure.