On December 2nd, the city lit up: Promenade des Anglais with its Santa Claus, Place Masséna, Jardin Albert 1er, water mirror with its island of Christmas trees, facade of the National Theater of Nice… A true spectacle for the eyes that will allow us to approach this holiday season more positively…, at least we hope so!
Christmas lights and decorations have been installed everywhere, in the city center and in each neighborhood, so that Nice shines with a thousand lights.
This year, oh so exceptional, there will be no Christmas village as tradition demanded. The city has therefore opted for neighborhood animations and illuminations.
In order to support merchants in their reopening, certain shopping streets and squares were illuminated as early as November 27th.
Among the new features this year are: 479 illuminated palm trees on the Promenade des Anglais, a 225m² island of Christmas trees on the water mirror of the Promenade du Paillon comprising a 10-meter-high tree, a luminous roof, 3D structures, and 100 natural Christmas trees, the illumination of the Bellanda Tower, and a video mapping on the Basilica of Notre Dame and the Franciscan church (starting Friday, December 18th).
In addition, a nine-meter-high Santa Claus with 30,000 LEDs stands on the Promenade des Anglais in front of the Lenval hospital, Christmas trees and various motifs are scattered all over the city.
Enough to make one forget the absence of the traditional market that embodies the holiday spirit “by promoting a neighborhood Christmas”, comments Christian Estrosi. “I insisted on preserving these end-of-year celebrations and ensuring that the Christmas spirit persists at all costs. Our teams have been mobilized for weeks to transform Nice into a city of light.”
