Photo by P. Behar
Hours:
Second week in July; hours vary by performance.
Price:
Adults €31-€35, Youth (10-16) €15, Children (under 10) Free [approx. $19-$45].
Type:
Concerts, Festivals
The Nice Jazz Festival was the first international jazz festival of significance. At the inaugural festival in 1948, Louis Armstrong was the headliner, and it continued to regularly draw the top names in jazz, from Miles Davis to Ella Fitzgerald. It’s hard to find a jazz great who didn’t play this festival. In the 1990s, as with many top jazz festivals, Nice tried to add more world music and pop to broaden its appeal, but organizers recently reversed course to continue their tradition as a 100 percent jazz festival, albeit with the most impressive and broad spectrum of offerings for the genre. In 2011, the festival changed locations from historic Cimiez to the Jardin Albert 1er and Place Massena in central Vieux Nice. It also reduced the ticket charge, making it easier for visitors to come and go all day and night.