Discovery walk of Menton - Circuit more than 2 hours

1: For this long route, we start at 17 rue de la République, in front of the Town Hall. Let us turn our backs to the building and cross the square and continue under the arcades and then turn right into Rue Saint Michel.
2: There, we meet the official processors of Menton lemon, which infuses the air with citrus aromas. At the Prestige de Menton in No. 19, Au Pays du Citron in No. 24, La Savonnerie Mentonnaise in No. 27 and finally the Maison Herbin, 2 rue du Vieux Collège (perpendicular to the pedestrian street) offer typical products of the city, based on real Menton lemons.
3: At the end of Rue Saint Michel, pay attention to the two prominent places of the place: the famous Place aux Herbes, formerly market place, with its central fountain, then the Place du Cap up to the Jardin du Campanin, place dreamed to catch his breath before the climb in the old Menton.
4: Let’s now go up to the historic centre via rue des Logettes. After passing through the Huilerie Saint Michel, at the corner of Rue Bréa, we enter under one of the old fortified gates of the old town, rue Longue. After a hundred meters, we arrive at the majestic ramps of the Basilica of Saint Michel Archange and then at the square of the basilica, covered with pebbles (the famous «Calades» including that of the Parvis aux Armes des Grimaldi. On the left, the basilica, at the top of the stairs, the Chapel of the White Penitents (typical to the development of the counter-reform redefined by the Council of Trent), much more decorated, it is classified historical monument since 1947. The chapel and the basilica form a unique baroque ensemble on the French Riviera.
ATTENTION: The rest of the route requires a steep climb. It is possible to stop at this place and get to Place du Vieux Cimetière by bus (line 8, departure Gare Routière, stop Trabuquet).
For the more adventurous, let’s continue with la Montée du Souvenir.
5: We arrive at a magical point of view: the roofs of the old town on the right, the sea as far as the eye can see in front, the Italian point on the left, the beauty of the site is accentuated by lutrins, placed back to the sea. Benches call us to rest, before continuing our way on the boulevard de Garavan, for 3 kms to the border post «Saint Louis».
6 and 6’: Along the way that awaits us on the boulevard de Garavan, remarkable trees such as the false pepper tree or the carob tree accompany our road. Explanatory panels on the surrounding vegetation and “succulent” plants as well as copper bands with the names of the most important species take place on our route.
7: A hundred meters and we arrive at a new remarkable point of our route: the Oliveraie du Parc du Pian. Let’s go through the top door.
8: Let us descend into the Olive Grove, gathering more than 500 specimens of olive trees. The Pian Park also hosts a mini golf course and has shaded picnic areas with magical sea views. At the bottom of the park, a viewpoint with benches has been built. Let’s take the time to overlook the old harbour before going out the east gate.
9: We go down the avenue Blasco Ibanez, we arrive in front of the gate of the garden of Fontana Rosa. Decorated with mosaics, the pediment of the portal presents the portraits of 3 authors (Balzac, Cervantes and Dickens) and the motto of the garden: ‘Fontana Rosa, the garden of the Novelists’. Let’s continue our descent.
10: After passing under the railway bridge, turn left to go up Webb Ellis Street to the SNCF station, starting point of the GR 52. In front of it, four pines, inclined by the wind and on the left of the pines, a row of palms. Let’s go down next to the palm trees to catch up with Avenue Katherine Mansfield and turn right to arrive at Porte de France.
11: Here is the end of our route. After taking a left on Porte de France, we go along the Saint Laurent chapel. A little further, the Fontaine Hambury offers us its drinking water to cool us. Last look at the harbour master and the Old port dominated by the old town and the Basique Saint Michel.
> To return to the city centre, take the bus no. 1, stop Garavan, or return on foot by the sidewalk on the sea side along the Porte de France.

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