Menton Beaches
Orange Festival, France

Click top or bottom images to see Cannes Pictures; Festival photos to see Nice Carnival

Menton and its kid-friendly beach, is about as far southwest as you can get in France.

Menton is a charming, relaxed town 30 minutes by train from Nice, between Monaco and Italy. It's not a wild and exciting party place like Nice, nor as overbuilt and expensive as its neighbour Monaco, but does offer a couple of OK beaches, some great exotic gardens [jardins], a wacky annual festival La Fête du Citron, and a spectacularly pleasant micro-climate.
The concrete supports for the autoroute into Italy - which is just minutes away - are visible in the distance in the photo above.

Menton's less protected beach on the Baie du Soleil.

Menton celebrates its spectacular micro-climate - that permits it to grow fine crops of oranges and lemons - with the annual Orange Festival.

The Orange Festival is shorter than Nice's Carnival, at only one week including the usual mad, orange-heavy parade and samba-ish dress codes, though...

...aaaarghh! Attack of the giant aphids! Scary one, guys.

Cleverly the Menton council schedules the cheerful Orange Festival to coincide with Nice's Carnival, so visitors can easily take in both events without breaking a sweat. Stay in Nice - where there is way more accommodation and other facilities, then hop on a train to Menton for one of the procession days, or rent a car if you're feeling lucky in the parking lottery.

As for Menton's town generally, well it's got some goodies worth a look. This one's the covered market...

...these are town centre offices,...

...and traditional town centre housing.

More Images: France Beaches | France Pictures | Cannes | Antibes | Juans-les-Pins

Menton Beach Photos © Julian Loader