Menton can be visited in all seasons because of its mild climate. The hot and dry summer will offer you bathing on one of the pretty beaches of the city. In winter, you will discover the citrus season that has made the city’s reputation, with the lemon festival as a highlight. But in all seasons, you will be charmed by the old village overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the old port.

Labelled “Ville d’Art de d’Histoire” since 1991, Menton will give you a taste of the gentle way of life on the French Riviera. Its stunning charm, the result of Provençal and Italian influences, reveals its history, which is disputed between Italy, France and Monaco.

History

Although the Roman road Julia Augusta linking Nice to Rome certainly passed through Menton, it was in the 13th century that the town was first named in a treaty. Indeed, the town then served as a border between the Italian Republic of Genoa and the French Provençal County then occupied by Charles of Anjou. But in the 14th century (1346), Charles de Grimaldi, belonging to the princely family of Monaco, bought the town. Thereafter, Monaco kept control of the city for about 5 centuries, even if France annexed the city (and Monaco!) at the Revolution. Unable to bear the high taxes levied on lemons by the Prince of Monaco Florestan I, Menton declared itself free in 1848, under the protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1861, following the plebiscite organised, the town was attached to France. Napoleon III paid 4 million francs to the Princes of Monaco in compensation for the territorial annexation.