Menton

Menton is the last French town before Italy, and the most sheltered on the coast: the relief protects it to the north, which gives it a climate reputed to be the mildest in mainland France. That microclimate is what allowed subtropical species to be acclimatised here, and it explains the density of remarkable gardens on such a small territory.

It is also what produced its emblem: the Menton lemon, protected by a geographical indication since 2015, and the festival devoted to it every February since the 1930s. The old town, rising in ochre tiers above the harbour, is crowned by the forecourt of the Saint-Michel-Archange basilica, where a chamber music festival has been held since 1950.