yellow mellow: you won’t believe france’s citrus-inflected town
“The sun dazzles me and goes to my head, a sun, a light that I can only call yellow, sulphur yellow, lemon yellow, golden yellow. How lovely yellow is!”.
The artist Vincent Van Gogh penned this ode to the golden hue in a letter to his brother Theo upon arriving in the South of France in 1888. Van Gogh might as well have been writing about Menton, the unofficial yellow capital of France. Houses painted in sunny sherbert, shopfronts glowing marigold orange, tree branches heaving with ripe lemons: yellow, in all its glorious shades, is the overwhelming colour of Menton (Summer, the overwhelming season; Happiness, the overwhelming emotion). Unlike its more popular neighbours along the French Riviera, Menton is not a party town. Most shops close down by 10pm, and the whole town evokes a sleepy, idyllic vibe an - atmosphere that pairs well with the town’s pale-yellow palette. Stepping into Menton’s old quarter feels like stepping onto the set of Roman Holiday or a Romy Schneider film. Here, in this lesser-known town, the past lives on. Old men sit outside coffee shops smoking cigarettes and playing cards, children skip across the cobblestone streets. Close to the border of Italy, Menton is a gem in the South of France’s crown.
tout est bon dans le citron!
The french have a saying - tout est bon dans le citron - meaning all parts of the lemon are useful, and nowhere does this seem to be truer than in menton. the town is one of France’s biggest producers of citrus – a feat that comes as no surprise given its almost eternally sunny climate that the fruit just loves (the town is supposedly 3ºC than the rest of France). Menton lemons are especially juicy and fragrant, and each is hand-picked by local farmers. The fruit instils a real pride in its people, and local artisans and producers have found a way to pack lemon into just about anything. Sample lemon infused butter cookies and nougat from La Cure Gourmand, marvel at pastries from local bakeries oozing with lemon curd, and pick up a pack of handmade lemon ravioli from Pasta Piemonte.
The pinnacle of the town’s love affair with the sun-kissed fruit is their annual Fête du Citron (Lemon Festival). Today, the event attracts visitors in the hundreds of thousands and uses over 140 tons of citrus fruit to craft mammoth sculptures, towering floats, and stunning garden displays. The festival runs every february for about 3 weeks.
Jean cocteau, santo sospir villa
several major airlines service daily flights from australia’s capital cities to nice. from there, menton can be reached by a short train or car ride.
A town for artists
The town’s whimsical colour palette serves as a veritable playground for creative minds. Indeed, artist Jean Cocteau had a special connection to the town, and in 1966 a museum in his honour was opened. Looking at Cocteau’s work, one can palpably sense the influence of the French Riviera is palpably felt in its snaking, free form lines and bursts of yellow that evoke its sunny, fantastical spirit.