The Côte d'Azur: Menton

I’d never heard of Menton before but Lonely Planet said it was one of their top five places in the South of France to visit. And when has Lonely Planet ever told me lies? Never. That’s when.

So our first night was spent in Menton, right next to the Italian border. It was your typical Euro beach town. Beautiful beaches, with clear blue water and way too many topless people.

After checking in to our room at Hotel de Londres, we wandered along the water to the marina, took some photos like the tourists we are. We had dinner at a place called Le Festival Plage where we overlooked the beach and the marina was on our right and Italy was on our left.

That's Italy over there -

After we sat down, two glasses of Prosecco and some chips appeared. We hadn’t ordered them and not understanding what was being said they were put down, I assumed they were free. They weren’t. Oh well, still delicious.

I had entrecôte (steak), which is always a pretty safe bet and it was delicious. Sam, wanting something traditionally French, was considering the tartare. I tried to warn him that it was raw and mincey, but being determined to eat as much of the local cuisine, he ordered it anyway.

He didn’t really enjoy it, but ate it all anyway. His chocolate fondant desert more than made up for it though. Delicious!


The next morning we stuffed our faces full of croissants and brioche and wandered around the markets. New Zealand made a feature and we came across a cool museum. 

Then we headed to the beach. I went for a swim in the beautiful clear water and Sam decided to wait for the next stop. Cannes.

Later in the trip we were told Menton was for old people, but I still really like it! Apparently it’s retirement central which makes sense given that most people at our hotel were older than our parents.