Menton is the mildest town in France: a pastel old town rising above a curved bay, remarkable gardens, the Cocteau collections, the February Lemon Festival and the Italian border ten minutes away.
The old town climbs from the harbour in ochre and pink houses linked by covered passages and stairways. Rue Saint-Michel, lined with orange trees and cafés, ends at the Belle Epoque covered market where producers sell citrus, olive oil and Ligurian specialities every morning. A staircase of about a hundred steps leads up to the pebble-mosaic parvis of the baroque Basilique Saint-Michel-Archange, and higher still to the old castle cemetery with its panorama from Cap Martin to Bordighera.
Menton's microclimate supports the Serre de la Madone, the Val Rahmeh botanical garden, Fontana Rosa and the Jardin de Maria Serena — several visitable only on guided tours booked in advance. The Musée Jean Cocteau collections and the Salle des Mariages at the town hall cover the artistic side. For two to three weeks from mid-February, the Fête du Citron fills the Biovès gardens with sculptures built from tens of tonnes of citrus fruit and draws around 200,000 visitors.
The border is at Ponte San Luigi. Ventimiglia's Friday market, one of the largest street markets in Italy, is fifteen minutes by road; the Hanbury Botanical Gardens, Dolceacqua with its medieval bridge painted by Monet and the seafront of Bordighera are all within half an hour. On the French side, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin lies between Menton and Monaco.
Menton is about 45 km from Nice Airport, typically 45 to 60 minutes along the A8 and longer during the Lemon Festival or Monaco Grand Prix week. Trains are frequent but awkward with luggage and central parking is difficult in season. A Mira Azur chauffeur meets you in the terminal and drives door to door at a fixed fare, and Menton can be combined with Roquebrune, Monaco or the Italian border towns in one day.
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