It's February, and although this means winter here in France, the mimosa or acacia plant still thinks it's summer as it used it be in its ancestor's lands of the southern hemisphere. And so it blooms in full winter.
Walking along the Tanneron hills, the residential areas by St Raphael such as Boulouris, the Estérel Mountains and dotting gardens here and there, the mimosa splashes the scenery with fluorescent yellow puffs.
Where?
The hills of Tanneron behind Cannes are not only covered with mimosas, but harvested for its fragrant flowers for florists and for the perfume industry. You'll also find dashes of yellow paint the Esterel Mountains by Agay and St Raphael, by the St Tropez peninsula and decorating the flowery village of Bormes-les-Mimosas.
When?
Varies by a week or two depending on French Riviera temperatures, but generally from early February to early March.
How to visit?
The best way is to jump in on one of the festivities organized by the Tourism Offices around the Mimosa Festival. Each year in February, tourism offices and local towns team up to organize a Mimosa Trail. The trail runs from Grasse, Mandelieu, Tanneron, Pégomas, St Raphael, Ste Maxime, all the way to Bormes-les-Mimosas (130 kms). Over the course of a few days, the towns along the trail whip up guided walks, talks, tours and coach excursions around the mimosa tree. The guided walks with forestry officers (ONF) and the mimosa farm visits are interesting if you're comfortable enough in French. Otherwise, lots of yellow & fun with a Mimosa Corso flower parade to crown the event.
Mimosa corso's for 2009 include:
- Pégomas corso on January 25
- Ste Maxime & Tanneron corso on February 1
- St Raphaël mimosa corso on 15th to wrap up a full week of mimosa activities.See the St Raphael Tourism Office Site here.
- Mandelieu has a special mimosa festival from Feb 13 to 22th February with a corso flower floats on the 22nd. They host some of the more interesting visits to mimosa farms, to Grasse, to the Massif de Tanneron. See their tourism office info here.
- Bormes les Mimosas: Carnival of Flowers with a corso Feb 23 and 24. See details on the Bormes web site.
