The square is empty again next to the Arènes kiosk, in the Cimiez gardens in Nice.
No more wooden horses, no more mobile baskets. Goodbye magic ride. Hello site a little disenchanted.
Three little turns and then gone? That's a bit like it, because the magnificent carousel which, throughout the summer, made children's dreams spin, packed up for good at the end of October.
Disassembled, put away, loaded into pieces in a truck.
At the kiosk, between two coffees and two Niçoise salads, the faces are a little gloomy. “It’s being taken away from us, confirms an employee, but maybe we'll have another one…”
“It was a repair”
Very close to this hope of a spinning attraction attracting potential customers, the owner of the ride adjusts the closing and safety systems.
“We had been there since June 26, but it was a repair”, just sums up the person responsible.
On benches, adults are sad. Like Michèle, grandmother of three little ones aged 3 to 5: “More rides, more fun structures… This Arena garden is empty, dead… We don't really want to bring our children and grandchildren there anymore.”
A much regretted departure
This is not the first time that this scenario of commotion in the ride.
Déjà in May 2023, the 1900 carousel had stopped its gyration. The Nice company France Festivities, owner of the circular plateau, has been present for more than 15 years in the Cimiez gardens, had put an end to its activityby requesting the termination of its agreement, even though it was authorized by the City of Nice to occupy the public domain until the end of June 2025.
The fragile health of Désirée, the good fairy who held the attraction for thirteen years (and who had become the accomplice of several generations of kids), had decided otherwise, alas!
The ride was not destroyed, but sold to a fairground in eastern France, near Strasbourg.
A new ride soon?
At the time, Anthony Borré, current first deputy mayor of Nice, had expressed his regret at seeing fun frames and supports leave.
“We are particularly attached to maintaining a carousel for children in the heart of this historic place frequented by many families from the neighborhood, but also from the entire city. This is why I asked the competent services to relaunch a competitive procedure to authorize a new operator to occupy the public domain.”
What happened next? “A temporary carousel was installed in June 2024 in the garden of the Arènes de Cimiez by the operator of the carousels at Gare du Sud and Place Garibaldi, we explain at the town hall. As planned, this ride was withdrawn on October 28, 2024 because it is reserved each year in another municipality for the Christmas period.“
And so, should we stop the childish joy of twirling? No, and at town hall, we want to be reassuring: “In parallel with this temporary installation, a competitive bidding procedure was launched, from June 5, 2024 to July 3, 2024, for the operation of a carousel within the Cimiez Arènes garden. Offers were submitted and their analysis is underway by municipal services.”
Ultimately, we should therefore see another enchanting ride in Cimiez.
