Mimosa flowers at the Côte d'azur

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Winter at the French Riviera is really beautiful and attracts quite some tourists thanks to the thousands of mimosa plants that blossom from January to March in the massif under a nice sunshine. It gives the Esterel a truly unique spectacle of colors and scents.

The delicate golden flowers have a lovely light perfume and contributed greatly to the development of the cosmetic industry in nearby Grasse. Nowadays Mimosa is still very much used in the production of perfume and is exported all around the world from France. To really get a feel of the enormity of the Mimosa forest and to endorse yourself in its beauty you should walk on one of the many signed paths or take a scenic drive from Mandelieu-La Napoule. The traditional Mimosa Route features eight memorable stops: Bormes (-les-Mimosas), Le Rayol Canadel, Sainte Maxime, Saint Raphaël, Mandelieu, Tanneron, Pégomas and Grasse (so Villa Terre d’Azur is in the middle of it!).

The Mimosa festival in Madelieu-la-Napoule usually takes place in February. The Mimosa flower is celebrated at fashion shows, processions of floral boats and in illuminated flower parades in the afternoon en evenings.