Menton

Menton's old town, Cocteau and the Cap Martin path

In Menton, a weekend is the right length. Day one covers the covered market, the stairs to the Basilica of Saint-Michel-Archange, the Vieux Château cemetery and Cocteau's Salle des Mariages and museum. Day two starts in the Garavan gardens, then follows the Sentier Le Corbusier around Cap Martin to Roquebrune-Cap-Martin station or on to Monaco.

Morning. Start at the covered market by the old port, while the stalls are still being stacked with lemons and Italian cheeses, then climb the stepped lanes of the old town to the Basilica of Saint-Michel-Archange. Its forecourt, with the Grimaldi arms set in black and white pebbles, looks straight out to sea. Keep going up to the Cimetière du Vieux Château, where English, Russian and Italian names on the graves tell the story of the town's winter visitors, and find William Webb Ellis.

Afternoon. Come down to the Hôtel de Ville to see the Salle des Mariages, painted by Cocteau with a fisherman and his bride. Then walk to the seafront museum for his drawings and ceramics, and on to the little bastion on the harbour wall, which he decorated himself.

Evening. Watch the light turn the old town orange from the jetty, then eat in one of the restaurants around Place aux Herbes.

Day two. Spend the morning in Garavan's gardens, among them the olive grove of the Parc du Pian and the exotic plants of the Val Rahmeh, then walk or take the bus back west. After lunch, set off on the Sentier Le Corbusier around Cap Martin, past the rocky coves and the architect's cabin above the shore, and take the train home from Roquebrune-Cap-Martin or carry on to Monaco. On a Friday, swap the coast path for the train to Ventimiglia's market.

Pichade, barbajuans and the famous Menton lemon

Menton's food mixes Niçois and Ligurian cooking. Try pichade, an onion and tomato bread, barbajuans, fried pastries filled with chard, rice and cheese, and anything made with the citron de Menton, a lemon with its own geographical indication. The Belle Époque covered market by the old port is busiest in the morning.

Menton's cooking sits between Nice and Liguria, and the menus show it. The local snack is pichade, a thick bread base spread with slow-cooked onions and tomato, a cousin of the Niçois pissaladière but without the anchovy paste on top. Barbajuans, small fried pastries stuffed with chard, rice and cheese, are shared with neighbouring Monaco and turn up at bakeries and as aperitif snacks. Fresh pasta is everywhere, a reminder that Italy starts a few kilometres east.

The star ingredient is the citron de Menton, a large, fragrant lemon with a thick rind, grown on terraces behind the town and protected by its own geographical indication. You will find it in tarts, in syrups and liqueurs, and in jams from the old-town confectioners, and in early spring it is sold by the bag at the market. Look out also for the sweet fougasse mentonnaise, a flat brioche scented with orange flower and topped with sugar and aniseed.

For shopping and grazing, the covered market near the old port, in a decorated Belle Époque hall, is busiest in the morning. The restaurants of the old town and the quays along the harbour cover everyday Mediterranean food. At the other extreme, Mirazur, on the hill at the Italian border, is one of Europe's most celebrated tables, with gardens that supply its kitchen; it books up months ahead.

The Fête du Citron, spring walks and summer music in Menton

Menton has the mildest winters on the French mainland coast, with January highs around 15C. The Fête du Citron fills February, March to May is the walking season, and the Festival de Musique runs from late July to mid-August. September, at about 27C with a warm sea and fewer people, is the best beach month.

Menton's calendar follows its weather. Winters are the mildest on the French mainland coast, with January highs around 15C and nights that rarely drop below 7C, which is why the town filled with convalescents and wealthy winter guests in the 19th century and why lemons ripen here at all.

The year's big event comes in February. The Fête du Citron fills the Jardins Biovès with sculptures several metres high made from lemons and oranges, built around a new theme each year, while parades of citrus-covered floats move along the seafront on Sunday afternoons and night parades light up the promenade. It overlaps with the Nice Carnival, so rooms along the whole coast are scarce. Book ahead and travel by train.

Spring is the walking season. March to May brings highs of 17 to 22C, the gardens in Garavan are in flower, and the Cap Martin path is pleasant all day. By June the thermometer reaches 26C, and July and August average around 30C, when the pebble beaches fill and the town lives outdoors. That is when the Festival de Musique runs, from late July to mid-August, with evening concerts on the floodlit forecourt of Saint-Michel-Archange.

September, at about 27C, is the best beach month: the sea is still warm and the crowds have gone home. By October and November the days settle around 18 to 22C, perfectly fine for the old-town stairs.