Menton, Cote d'Azur

Nestled between Monaco and the Italian border is the garden city of Menton. Being tucked between the mountains and the sea, Menton is protected from winds and low temperatures giving it a lovely warm and dry climate. It's hot summers rarely exceed 86°F (30°C) and the winters are mild. This unique climate is an ideal location for Mediterranean gardens. As a result Menton has six botanical gardens within it 5.5mi² (14km²) area. 

Every two years Menton opens all its gardens to the public as part of the Garden Festival, where landscape design competitions and garden displays are part of the program. The city is so committed to its green spaces that it won the Quatre Fleurs certification - given to towns committed to horticulture - for several years in a row.

The climate is also an excellent environment for growing oranges and lemons and as such Menton is famous for its annual Lemon Festival and the Menton lemon. Menton was the largest lemon producer in Europe until the 1930s. Following a decline it took until recent times for that production to turn around. Today, there are 5,000 trees that produce more than 150 tonnes of lemons per year in Menton and its neighbouring communes.

In 1928 a hotelier organised a flower and citrus fruit exhibition in the gardens of his hotel. It was so successful the following years it spilled out into the streets and by 1935 it officially became an annual Lemon Festival. The festival is a huge event with a new theme each year. The centre of town, floats and statues are decorated in oranges and lemons. Interestingly though the citrus fruits used for the festival are actually from Spain because the Menton lemons are a protected fruit and there aren't enough produced to use in the event. Menton is quite environmentally conscious and at the end of the festival all the fruit is sold at a special market at a very low price in order to reduce wastage.

The old town of Menton is up on a hill and largely pedestrianised with narrow winding streets and colourful facades. 

Packed next to each other the buildings are narrow themselves, four to five storeys high, with French windows adorned with external shutters. Amongst the buildings is the Baroque style Basilica of Sant Michel. Construction began in 1619 at the request of Prince Monaco and took two centuries to fully complete. Its 173ft (53m) steeple protruding above the rooflines is visible from afar.

At the base of the hill is the old port and the nearby 17th century bastion which once served as a fort is now a museum exhibiting the works of Jean Cocteau, an artist, playwright, poet and filmmaker from early to mid-20th century. Across the street is the sister museum in a large and modern building also housing Jean Cocteau's works.

Leaving the museum for a stroll along the shoreline and absorbing the last of the azure sea, I reached the end of my journey having completed 100mi (160km) from Saint Tropez to Menton.

On a balmy afternoon I took a seat at a quaint little café and indulged in a local favourite, the classic lemon tart, tingly on the tongue but with a sweet crispy base and a cappuccino. Here I waited for the sun to set and I reminisced about my Côte D'Azur travels.