Menton
France
The last town before Italy, sheltered by mountains into the mildest winter on the French coast, with lemon trees to prove it
Photo by Slim MARS on Unsplash
Photos by Simon Spring, Anatoli Nicolae, redcharlie and Ellena McGuinness on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
February to June, and September to October — the lemon festival is in late winter, and high summer is hot and full
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 115mm in Oct
Where it is
43.78°N, 7.50°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A long weekend- Come in winter, when it is mild enough to sit outside and the rest of the coast is shut
- Book well ahead for the lemon festival, when the town fills
- Walk from the seafront to Roquebrune round Cap Martin and take the train back
- Climb to the old cemetery at the top of the old town for the view along the coast
- Cross to Italy for lunch
Menton travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
ExpensiveCards everywhere. A room costs less than the same room in Monaco, fifteen minutes away, and Ventimiglia over the border is cheaper again for lunch. Refuse the conversion when a terminal offers to charge you in your own currency.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines along the Avenue Félix Faure and the Rue Saint-Michel. Avoid the independent machines that offer to convert.
Avoid these
- independent machines that offer to convert to your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- Société Générale
- BNP Paribas
- CIC
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeOne of the calmest towns on the coast, and an old one: a lot of the year-round population is retired. The things to know are practical. French police check papers on trains and roads coming in from Italy, so carry your passport on a trip to Ventimiglia even though both are Schengen. The old town is steep steps all the way up, which matters in high summer heat and with luggage.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Trains and roads from Italy, where French police check papers; carry a passport, not a photocopy
- the old town steps — steep and long, and hard work in high summer or with a suitcase
- the beaches in summer — bags taken from the shingle while people swim
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodThe covered market by the seafront is open every morning and the Italian influence is the whole menu — barbajuan, fritters, pasta as good as anything across the border. Buy Menton lemons and their jam and liqueur in season. For a cheap lunch, take the ten-minute train to Ventimiglia, ideally on a Friday for its market.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Menton
No Holistay rentals in Menton yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Menton on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Nice Côte d’Azur NCE
55 minfrom the airport· 27 km as the crow flies
About 50 min by road; by tram to Nice-Ville and then the train, a little over an hour.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
