"Mon tour en Menton" a Menton Travel Page by emilesc

I'm going to go out on a limb and write about a subject I've neglected in my Cote d'Azur travelogue. And that's Jean Cocteau. :-)

Menton is just minutes from the Italian border, known for being the brightest spot on the Cote d'Azur with an average of 300 days of sun each year. One of these days I will explore more of what Menton has to offer.

Unfortunately, this time around, I had only a few hours in Menton before I met with my boss in Cannes, so I only had time to (re)visit the Musee Cocteau which is at Port Vieux. I'd visited for the first time 13 years ago.

I took a shuttle bus directly from Nice airport to Menton. Turned out the bus took a scenic route through the windy streets of Monaco en route, turning a 30 minute drive into an hour-long one. Since my time was short, this was a bit irritating, but ultimately was for the best because that's probably the closest I'll ever get to Monte Carlo (let's face it - high roller I am not). The drive was beautiful, but not a little unnerving - as the bus hugged the narrow curves of the steep, rail-less roads, I remained acutely aware that I might have been traveling the same roads on which Grace Kelly was killed. *shudders*

Fortunately, I arrived in one piece at the Menton Casino, which is about 1/2 mile from the museum and the town hall. More on this trip in the "must see" area.