Lily of the Valley Festival

The Lily of the Valley Festival: over a century of Rambouillet tradition

Since 1906, the Lily of the Valley Festival has marked the spring in Rambouillet. Created on the initiative of mayor Marie Roux, this popular festival has its roots in an old spring festival that already animated the town in 1880. Over the decades, it has been structured around strong traditions that continue today: the flower parade, the election of the Lily of the Valley Queen, and the fireworks display in the Château park.

The Lily of the Valley Queen, ambassador of the town

Since 1911 and the crowning of the first Queen, Fernande Deschamps, a young woman from Rambouillet has been elected each year to represent the town and its youth for one year. The election takes place during the Nuit du Muguet, a gala evening organized in January, where the public votes to choose the new sovereign and her court. This ritual is one of the festival's guiding threads, connecting generations of Rambouillet residents through a living and participatory tradition.

The flower parade: a spectacle of colors in the streets

On Sunday afternoon, the parade of flower-adorned floats is the highlight of the festival. About ten floats, decorated by associations, businesses, and neighborhoods of the town, travel through the streets of the center, from Place Félix-Faure to the Château park. Each year, a unifying theme inspires the creations: in 2025, "Discovering World Festivals" gave rise to floats evoking the Rio Carnival, the Indian Festival of Colors, the Chinese Lantern Festival, and Saint Patrick's Day. A jury awards prizes for the most beautiful creations.

A weekend of festivities for everyone

The Fête du Muguet unfolds over two days, the third weekend of May. Saturday features a fashion show by local retailers on the pedestrianized Rue du Général-de-Gaulle, followed by a pyrosymphonic show in the park of the Château de Rambouillet. Sunday begins with a musical prelude, a hunting ceremony, and a traditional mass at the Saint-Lubin church, before the grand flower parade in the afternoon. A funfair animates the town center throughout the weekend.