Fabulous Menton, France sits like a beautiful jewel on the eastern  edge of the Cote d’Azur, close to the Italian border.  We have rented in Cannes for many years and felt it was time to explore a new spot on the Riviera. I am SOOO glad we did! The view of the multi-hued “Old Town” above is from our terrace. We picked September 1st to begin our holiday as it is quieter with French schoolkids resuming the school term. Menton is definitely our “new favorite place” and features an amazingly beautiful and clean city to explore, great beaches with warm water, superb restaurants and markets with a wonderful blend of French and Italian cuisine. I haven’t seen Marla this happy and relaxed for ages!

The princes of Monaco owned Menton for almost six centuries, taxing their famous lemons. In 1848 Menton established a republic, uniting in 1860 with Louis Napoleon’s France. With year-round sunshine and picture postcard beauty, Menton is where the British invented the “French Riviera tourism.” By the late 19th century there were thousands of British residents wintering in Menton. Some of them built gorgeous mansions and magnificent gardens. The town became popular with the British upper classes looking for a possible cure for those afflicted with TB.  The influx of so many well-heeled but infirm English families attracted large numbers of English doctors to attend to them. Menton alone had no fewer than 50 English doctors.

We wanted an early dinner and chose Ristorante Ischia on the Quai Bonaparte. We loved it! Being so close to Italy Menton has a nice mix of French and Italian cuisine.

The town is wonderful for an evening stroll after dinner. This monument commemorates those deported and the resistance during World War II.

Menton at night. We once had a vintage travel poster of Menton for sale in our Denver showroom and knew we would visit the town someday.

On our way to the morning market in the old town we stopped to look at the Victoria Square fountain. In 1882 the widowed Queen Victoria stayed in Menton.  Her visit prompted the printing of postcards which were sent around the world. In 1939 a statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled in Menton on the Place Victoria. When the Italians seized Menton in the Second World War they threw the statue in the sea. It was replaced by the town of Menton in 1960. 

We climbed the hill to the Vieux Chateau Cemetery. On the way we stopped to admire the” Basilique Saint Michel Archange” built in 1653 on left and the “Chapelle des Penitents Blanc” built in 1680.

We had this fabulous place to ourselves this morning.

Tiny lanes crisscross the medieval village on the way up the hill.

“Either I’m really tall …or this door is very short!”

The views from up here are amazing! This is Garavan Bay with Italy just around the point on the right.

This section of the cemetery primarily contains the graves of British and Russian aristocrats from the late 19th century.

The statue on the tomb of the Polish princess, Janina Lewandowska.

The old Russian Orthodox Chapel in the cemetery. Menton was very popular with the Russian Imperial family in the late 19th century.

We walked down the other side of the hill toward the Centre Ville and the market.

Place aux Herbes.

The Marketplace is busy this morning!

Just look at these Zucchini flowers ready for stuffing!

So many fabulous choices! Bouchers, Fromageries, Patisseries, the freshest vegetables. 

Every day we stopped for a pastry and cappuccino after the market. So delish!

The beach areas were amazingly clean and neat! The wooden pavilions at the Plage des Sablettes even have fine mist sprayers to keep people cool.

We’re ready for a swim. There are numerous private beach clubs with their own restaurants and beach areas just across the street from our apartment. We tried three of them as well as the public beaches in the Garavan Bay area. We liked “Da Mitchou” and “La Dolce Vita Plage” best.

Our view to the east toward Italy.

The beach clubs at Garavan Bay. The bay is protected from large waves and is almost always very calm. The swimming was spectacular!

Marla caught me in a contemplative mood during lunch. We truly have very much to be thankful for and take nothing for granted these days!

The “Da Mitchou Beach Club.”

One day for lunch I had a grilled Loup, also called Branzino at the beach club. It is a delicious sea bass.

An afternoon swim.

The town sends out these special boats to clean trash from the water!

Marla outdid herself with this dinner! She had the butcher in the marketplace cut her veal chops!

Menton was fabulous in every way and an exciting new discovery for us! We found ourselves getting into wonderful rhythms combining seaside relaxation, shopping for our morning baguette and food for the day, our cappuccino in town,and even some exploration of neighboring villages. Oh,…I almost forgot,…shopping for wine each day! Thank you Marla for making this trip so memorable!

This is our FAVORITE city on the Cote d’Azur by far!

***In the weeks ahead I’ll post on an incredible 2 Star Michelin restaurant in Menton, Mirazur, ranked the 4th best restaurant in the world, and a visit to fascinating Gorbio, high in the hills. Stay tuned!

Photos: Dick Gentry (Not to be used without permission.)