Is this the most festive place in the world? Tiny village transforms into open-air Christmas wonderland
ONE small village around an hour from Nice transforms into an open-air Christmas scene in the wintertime.
It has the most amount of nativity scenes in France with a dedicated trail to see them all – and it draws in thousands of visitors from around the world.
The medieval village is called Lucéram which is just 15 miles from the coast, but sits up on a rocky hilltop in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region – and it has a reputation for Christmas decorations.
Every year the locals set up around 500 nativity scenes, or as they’re known in French, crèches – this is the most of any place in the country.
Across the village are model replicas of the nativity set around the cobbled streets, at churches, schools, barns and even in the village bread oven.
They can range from miniature scenes on window ledges to life-size displays.
Read More on Winter Holidays
The traditional nativity trail is called Circuit des Crèches, it has been running for nearly two decades and is completely free.
The trail is open every day from 10am to 12.30pm and from 2pm to 5.30pm, with afternoon-only opening on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
This year Lucéram even has a nighttime candlelit trail on Friday 19 December.
And there are two Christmas markets on two Sundays – December 14 and 21.
If you want a glimpse of the decorations then you’ll want to head out soon as the trail concludes on January 4, 2026.
The village sits on a hilltop and isn’t just pretty thanks to its Christmas scenes.
Lucéram has retained it’s medieval charm with stone houses that have terracotta-tiled roofs and vaulted passageways.
Also in the village are two chapels with impressive wall murals and an old olive oil mill.
Another popular activity is hiking to the nearby Vallée des Merveilles.
Brits can get to Lucéram by flying to Nice, a route which is offered by airlines like British Airways and easyJet.
From there, Lucéram can be reached in under 40 minutes by car or just over an hour on public transport.
This tiny European town is what people describe as a real-life Disney village…
With brightly coloured timber houses and window boxes full of flowers, Riquewihr in France has been compared to villages from Disney films.
Riquewihr is a village in the Alsace region known for having a blend of French and German culture resulting in picture perfect communes.
These have half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, and vineyards.
Unlike surrounding towns like Colmar, Riquewihr is much quieter when it comes to high season.
While it doesn’t have the canals that Colmar does, the town of Riquewihr has been called just as beautiful by visitors.
One visitors wrote on Tripadvisor: “This town is so cute you’ll think it was made for a Disney movie. we were here at Christmas and it gets EVEN CUTER with the decorations. you won’t believe it. i think it’s the cutest of all the Alsatian towns.”
Another added: “Picturesque would be an understatement. It’s a fairy tale village that doesn’t seem real.”
You’ll find the town between the Vosges mountains and the Alsatian vineyards, which only adds to its beauty.
For more pretty French villages, this one regularly tops list of France’s most beautiful places thanks to medieval homes, car ban and cute vineyards.