Menton is just a short train ride from Nice and the last stop before entering Italy. The seaside town has mountain views, a quaint old section and lots of beach front restaurants along its promenade. We only had a half day to spend in Menton but we could have easily stayed longer.
We visited Menton during its Lemon Festival which happens at the same time as Nice’s Carnival. Two festivals in one vacation, we couldn’t believe our luck! The Lemon Festival has a bunch of scheduled parades and events, none of which were happening while we were there, but there was also a Citrus Exhibition in the Bioves Gardens which was open throughout the festival and definitely worth a visit in itself.
This year the theme of the festival was Fantastic Worlds (Des Mondes Fantastiques). To view the Citrus Exhibition, just find the ticket office right next door to the gardens (or buy on line) and enter the walled in viewing area. Once inside you’ll immediately be blinded by bright yellow and orange colors everywhere. The huge displays are all completely covered with lemons (and oranges) and except for the pathways, the ground is covered with intricate patterns made from lemons as well. A street runs through the middle of the Bioves Gardens and a wide pedestrian bridge takes you from one side of the park to the other. From the top of the bridge you can see the mountains jetting out from behind the Lemon sculptures. It’s beautiful!
Enjoying Lemon Festival lemonade. 
After leaving the Lemons behind we walked towards the water and the Promenade du Soleil which was slightly obscured with the temporary seating for the parade but had great views just past the grand stands. There were lots of restaurants right on the water but we kept walking in search of a crepe place that I had read about. We found the restaurant (Fleur de Sel) on a side alley of the old part of town and it was empty when we first got there at noon but was completely packed by the time we left, and we could understand why, the crepes were great.
After the Promenade and exploring the old town, don’t forget to walk around the corner past the boats in the port and to the Plane des Sablettes beach. The beach is much wider than the beach along the Promenade and the view of the mountains across from the beach was beautiful.
After our morning and lunch in Menton, we hopped back onto the train heading back towards Nice, but before we got back home we got off the train to explore one more town, in an entirely different country, Monte Carlo, Monaco!