Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat transforms into a corner of Venice this Saturday for the Grande Nuit Vénitienne, a tradition running since the postwar years that has become one of the Côte d'Azur's most anticipated summer evenings.
The evening opens at 6pm on Place Sosno with mask sales, face painting and a free craft workshop, before the main parade sets off at 8.45pm through the village's narrow streets and along the port's quays. Close to 100 performers, including flag throwers, dancers, musicians and costumed characters in Venetian masks, will animate the procession alongside the association Top Dance, culminating on the water with illuminated boats gliding through the harbour. Fireworks follow at 10.30pm, before a dance continues until 1am.
Visitors are encouraged to come in costume, whether a full Venetian mask, period dress, or simply a flourish of fantasy, to fully join a night organisers describe as feeling like a theatre under open skies, set against the backdrop of the port and the glittering waters of the Mediterranean.