Overview

Baie des lumières is an impressively large and charming display of illuminations. I loved it. This is the first time that Nice, France have had an illumination festival. It is on at Parc Phoenix until 23 February 2020. The theme is China and there are more than 550 monumental luminous lanterns, including a 18-meter-high Chinese wall and two 50-meter-long dragons. There are also live shows, martial arts demonstration and a food-corner. Although the Nice tourist website said that the festival was Accessible PRM (People with restricted mobility), the French way of saying something is disabled accessible, overall the access was good, but it was not entirely step free.

Transport & Parking

Parc Phoenix has its own tram stop which is also called Parc Phoenix. It's on tram line 2 and stops about a 3 - 5 minute walk from the entrance. There are also a number of buses which stop close by. Parc Phoenix is very near to Nice Airport.

Access

The illuminations are being held in Parc Phoenix, which is a paid tourist attraction with gardens and animals. The Parc is specially opened during the evening for the illumination display. During the evening opening the gardens only are opened and not the buildings. The ticket office outside the entrance and the entrance itself both have step free access. This opened out to a large step free, level space. Close by a stage area where performances where held and there was step free entry into this area. However, the seating, see photo, to watch the show were ridiculously low and offered no back support or arms. I sat down knowing that I would never be able to get up again without support and planned to call over a member of staff to help me. However, a kind gentleman sitting next to me helped me up, but it took a couple of tries. This then impacted on my mobility and pain levels for the quite some time after. The seating available was very unsuitable for people with mobility impairments. I then went into the main garden area. It was quite large, spacious area and there was periodically bench seating with back support. There were paved paths that led through the gardens. The main paths were step free but there were some steps along the path near the lake. While the illuminations themselves were very bright there was no other lighting. Personally I felt this was a hazard in a few places. Often there was a couple of steps or a short flight of stairs to negotiate and on one occasion it was so dark I didn't see the step and my foot dropped. I think if it had been the other direction I think I would have tripped over the step and possibly fallen. I went on Christmas Eve, as in France it is Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day which is the major celebration, I knew it would be quieter and it was nice to go round without any crowds. The food area was in one section of the Parc, behind the Great Wall of China, and consisted of a few stalls selling Chinese, pizza, burgers. There were vegetarian options and there was picnic tables with benches to sit. This area was particularly poorly lit.

Toilets

I think there were accessible toilets within the main toilet block but I didn't use them, so unable to comment.

Staff

I had minimal staff interaction but where it was it was helpful. The person by the ticket office directed me to a short step free route. Tickets can be purchased online but I bought mine on the night and the lady at the ticket office didn't understand English so someone else assisted. The person checking the tickets was welcoming. However, I didn't see any staff as I walked round the exhibition. There was people serving at the food stalls but then I didn't see anyone till the exit.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

When I arrived I was given a map and this was helpful in making sure I saw everything but it wasn't detailed with pointing out a step free route. I really enjoyed the visit and highly recommend it. Just be careful walking round the path near the pond as there are some steps and the lighting is very poor along that path.

Photos