La Fête des Violettes in Tourrettes-sur-Loup

One of the most beautiful flower parades on the Côte d’Azur

Every year, at the end of winter, Tourrettes-sur-Loup is filled with delicate scents and vibrant colours to celebrate the Violet Festival, an iconic tradition of the Vence region. For a whole weekend, this hilltop village comes alive with a Provençal market, meetings with local growers and a spectacular flower parade, where floats decorated with violets parade beneath a shower of petals. An authentic immersion in local craftsmanship that showcases one of the most beautiful flower parades on the French Riviera…

Rédigé par Audrey Salor

The Fête des Violettes on the Côte d’Azur

High up on a rocky spur of the hinterland of Nice, the medieval village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup overlooks the sea. With its ramparts and village houses built in stone, this gem of the Côte d’Azur is also known as the « Cité des violettes » (town of violets). Every first weekend in March, craftsmen, shopkeepers and village associations deck its narrow streets with flowers for the Fête des Violettes, a real must among the traditional events in the South of France. A popular local institution for the inhabitants of Tourettes and for thousands of visitors, it celebrates the age-old savoir-faire of the horticulturists of Tourrettes-sur-Loup. On the menu: the traditional flower parade – one of the most beautiful in the Sud! – with its procession of imposing decorated floats, and also a flower battle, a producers’ market, an exhibition in the museum area and the discovery of the history and cultivation of this sweet-scented flower, a symbol of modesty and secret love.

Cultivating violets in Tourrettes-sur-Loup

A centuries-old story…

Bicycles, strollers and donkeys were the flower-covered mounts when in 1952, Victor Linton initiated the first edition of the Fête des Violettes. An artist and silversmith from Scotland, residing in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, Victor wanted, with this new flower fair on the Côte d’Azur, to showcase the village’s horticulturists as the delicate flower had been grown on the terraced plots for generations. In the XVIIIth century, there were several dozen producers in the village. Around 1880, the Victoria violet became the main crop on the territory, driven by the development of the perfume industry in Grasse, which is currently listed in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. From May to July, its leaves are transported on the day they are cut. From October to March, its flowers, picked by hand, are used to make bouquets.

…which is still being written

After having guaranteed the economic prosperity of Tourrettes-sur-Loup for a long time, violet growing, challenged by globalisation, and particularly by competition from Egypt, had to reinvent itself to survive. The last three family farms in the village – the EARL La Violette, and the Romic and Quentin productions – therefore made the choice of quality over quantity, by choosing an organic, reasoned farming, oriented towards innovation. La Bastide des Violettes, which is both a museum and a greenhouse, is well worth visiting during the Fête des Violettes and also throughout the rest of the year. It tells the passionate story of Tourrettes-sur-Loup’s Victoria violet, which has become the symbol of its collective identity. From November to March, you can see violets and smell their perfume.

Violets, from confectionery to perfume

A highly colourful event and a homage to the horticultural tradition of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, the Fête des Violettes is also a real feast for the senses. On Saturday and Sunday, on the Place de la Libération, the Provencal market is an invitation to discover violet-related local products and crafts. Sweets, cordials, aromatised teas, candied violet flowers… Because yes, violets can also be eaten! And also cosmetics, soaps and of course perfumes. Faithful to the tradition of the Côte d’Azur, local producers compete to find the best ways to highlight the violet in infinite ways with floral and subtle aromas and scents. During the Fête des Violettes, two emblematic houses which have always used violets in their creations open their doors to visitors: the Parfumerie Fragonard in Grasse and the Fabrique de la Confiserie Florian in Tourrettes-sur-Loup. An olfactory and delicious journey to experience a tradition of excellence, which is still very much alive.