Menton seen from the autoroute looks like a film set – brightly coloured lemon, ochre, russet and orange houses tumbling down the steep hillside, bell-towers, palm trees and of course the deep blue sea. And now is a good time to visit as the crowds for the ‘Fete des Citrons’ have left and the summer visitors have not yet arrived.
It’s a lovely place. The old town is a blend of Italian and French styles: tiny alleys, worn stairways, pizza restaurants, flowers….and currently trees full of oranges. The newer part of town has Belle Epoque hotels with names like the Royal Windsor, the Westminster, the Prince des Galles, which gives us a clue as to the clientele in the 19th century.
But bang up to date is the new Musée Jean Cocteau, designed by Rudi Ricciotti of Mucem
Although it looks black in this night-time shot, the museum is shiny-white in the sun.
fame. It’s nothing like the Marseille building. For a start, this museum is brilliant white and low – the brief was that it couldn’t be higher than 4.5m as it is on the sea front. ‘My museum is fluid like Cocteau’s line: low, white, powerful and sensual,’ wrote the architect. Inside, the light floods in through wavy windows which I thought was a nod to its beach-side location but no, apparently they are ‘flames or flowing locks of hair’.
There is a special exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cocteau’s death. ‘Cocteau, Matisse, Picasso, Méditerranéens’ brings together 400 works of art – paintings, drawings, ceramics – as well as photos and rare films of the three artists. They each worked on the Cote d’Azur in a period of incredible fertility and freedom after the darkness of WW2. And this exhibition shows how they inspired each other both in subject matter and their treatment of it.
It’s a lovely museum with a good bookshop and café. From there, you can wander along to the Musée Bastion to see more of Cocteau’s work or visit the elegant Town Hall where Cocteau designed the Salle des Mariages.
If art isn’t your thing, there are gardens galore, among them the Jardin Exotique du Val Rahmeh planted by English botanists and the Spanish-themed Jardin des Romanciers with Valencian tiles and lots of fountains.
Driving from Aix: just over two hours, assuming it’s not a holiday weekend.
Details: http://www.tourisme-menton.fr/-Menton-French-Riviera-.html
Love the sound of the exhibition and to visit the town outside the main season, thanks for the reminder!
It was a good expo and I had the place to myself. What a contrast with London/Paris. We are lucky to be able to wander round galleries here unhassled. Long may it last!