My young adult daughter and I will be spending 3 nights in Menton on July 22 -25. I have done a lot of reading and we've noted Eze and Peillon but would love some personal recommendations of area towns to explore and also beach recommendations. As background, we arrive in Marseille on the 21st from Paris, pick up a car and will spend one night in Cassis with a reservation for a kayak trip to the Calanques on the morning of the 22nd. We will then drive to Menton (any suggestions for a particular nice driving route would be gratefully received!). My daughter chose Menton for it's medieval architecture and history and we are interested in exploring some of the small inland towns near it. I have also read that there is a wonderful market just over the border in Italy but now I cannot find the name in my notes! Any other things to note about Menton would be appreciated. Thank you!
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10634 posts
Inland: Gorbio.
La Turbie to see La Trophée des Alpes
La Brigue
Notre-Dame-des-Fontaines Chapel
The market over the border in Ventimiglia, Italy is on Friday mornings. Vendors come up from all over Italy to sell clothing and other items. In July, a lot of French vacationers go to the market for clothes.
One of my favorite activities in Menton is attending the summer concerts that take place on the plaza in front of the church. These begin at 9 p.m. Tickets required, which you can buy either on-line or in person from the Office of Tourism. This is a yearly classical music festival.
No route to suggest because the coast roads will be jammed in July from place to place. I suppose you could follow the coast from Cassis to Toulon and then get on the autoroute. I'd just take the autoroute.
Posted by
Washington DC
28106 posts
Menton has a couple of very nice gardens, both built on the side of a hill (not the same hill). I enjoyed Menton enough to visit it twice while I was staying in Nice the first half of May 2017, but even at that time of year the medieval part of town was extremely touristy. It's best to know that ahead of time so you have realistic expectations.
I didn't have a car, so I wasn't able to explore off-the-beaten-path spots, but a well-informed local expecially recommended Tourrettes-sur-Loup to me as a picturesque place free of tourist hordes. In theory (if you believe Google Maps) you could drive there from Menton in an hour, but that seems optimistic to me. The less-swamped places I visited were all west of Nice, so geographically rather inconvenient for you.
If you decide to see other coastal places, the train will probably be better than driving.
Posted by
Chicago
8561 posts
It is an easy bus ride up to Roquebrune Cap Martin old town which is a gorgeous little medieval village with views out over the sea. Very picturesque -- little in the way of shopping but there are a. couple of places to eat and it is fun to walk around. There is an old castle ruin to explore and a graveyard above the town with great views where Corbussier is buried.
Another great visit is the Corbussier Cabine (sort of the original 'tiny house' ) and the wonderful Eileen Gray house. They are in Cap Martin and tours are arranged by reservation. Very worthwhile. For years this wonderful house was often credited to Corbussier because that is what happens to the work of creative women.
https://capmoderne.com/en/lieu/la-villa-e-1027/
There is plenty of parking in large lots just below the pedestrian area of the ancient center of Roquebrune Cap Martin and there is parking at the visitor center for the Elaine Gray house tour.
Posted by
OP
Portland, Maine
14 posts
Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions!
Bets: La Turbie and La Brigue look wonderful and I am excited to see the chapel in particular. Unfortunately we'll miss the classical music festival. I was thinking it would be best to just take the autoroute as this drive is just to get us from point A to point b.
acraven: Thank you for mentioning the gardens and for the heads up about the amount of tourists. I've definitely added Tourrettes-sur-Loup to our list of towns and I've chosen a few craftspeople whose shops I want to visit in particular a man who hand carves bowls and utensils from olive wood.
janettravels44: Thank you for suggesting Roguebrune Cap Martin. The pictures of it look amazing. I love learning about architecture and I am going to try to make time for the tour of the Eileen Gray house.