Menton is a small town on the French Riviera.
It is located just 7 km west of the border with Italy.
The local landscape outlines a typical coastline for the French Riviera – steep Alps plunge sharply into the blue sea. Pebble beaches prevail even though some are sandier or with fine gravel.
All in all, normal Cote d’Azur staff. And yet, this small-scale locality (30,000 people population in 2022) attracts around 200,000 tourists a day in peak season. Something special must be going on there.
Menton’s climate is definitely something special.
Summer days are hot and dry, perfect for beach holidays. Breeze blows gently from the sea, cools the heat and refreshes the air.
Alps protect the land in winter. As a result, the winter daytime temperatures stay around 13-14 degrees and at night drop only to 4-5 degrees.
Therefore, the good news is that visitors can swim in the sea all year round .
The bad news is for the fans of the Wim Hoff method of cold exposure. Temperatures seldom go below freezing.
The mild climate provides remarkable benefits for the inhabitants of Menton.
The weather favours farming, not common for the rest of France such as growing citrus fruits, olive trees and avocados .
Menton became known as the “citrus paradise “ with 316 days of sunshine per year.
The very high quality of the lemons grown in the area built the brand “Citron de Menton”.
Lemon is king in Menton.
The most favourite colour in the town is yellow, the most delicious dessert is lemon tart, the most produced drink is limoncello.
The world-celebrated event in Menton is the Lemon Festival held between 14th and 29th February every year.
Clever local people created this profitable opportunity which combines tourism, the sale of farming produce and entertainment in one occasion .
The first festival took place in 1934. It was a massive success and the festival has been going strong for more than 90 years.
Its popularity brings visitors to the town all year round.
They tour lemon farms, try the famous lemon tart and buy Barbotine Majolica pottery with the vibrant citrus motif.
A place like that inevitably attracts artistic and bohemian souls.
One of the celebrated inhabitants of Menton was the French actor, poet and artist Jean Cocteau (1889-1963).
The local people have organised a well-curated museum of his works near the town port.
I am not familiar with the art of Cocteau apart from his drawing in the French Catholic church Notre Dame de France in
London’s Leicester Square.
I do find certain repeated patterns in his painting mildly boring.
However, the elegance of the lines and the emotional and philosophical depths of the paintings provoke unexpected
thoughts and joy.
My satisfaction was complete when I saw one particular drawing.
I thought everyone knows someone who could model for this painting.
That is all, folks- the last post of the series “French Riviera”.
I am moving on to waltzing in Vienna.
1 Comment
Love lemoncello ❤️ cheers 🥂