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Menton is once more awash with the sight and scent of lemons this week, as the small town in the Cote d’Azur celebrates the annual La Fête du Citron (Festival of Lemons).
The two-week event is expected to welcome an estimated 250,000 people to the French Riviera to witness the famous parade, making it the 2nd largest celebration held on the Cote d’Azur after the Nice Carnival, also taking place this week.
This year’s theme is ‘Rock and Opera’, for which artists have been busy building huge floats and models in anticipation, many scaling 10-to-15 metres in height, which will be decorated with an abundance of lemons and oranges.
Local musicians will fill the air with music and the streets with dance, while the vast crowds can expect to see plenty of acrobats, stilt-walkers, fire-eaters and other performers, as well as great swirling clouds of confetti fired from the passing floats. Local cuisine will be on offer, as well as arts and crafts produced by the region’s talented artisans.
The star attractions, however, are those of the ornate works of art adorned with citrus fruits. Each year over 200 artists work with a mind-boggling 140 tonnes of lemons and oranges to create the 13 citrus displays. Given the scale of the celebrations and the preciousness (and expense) of the local Menton lemon, cheaper citrus fruits are imported from Spain to meet the demand.
The Festival began in 1896 as a more traditional carnival celebration, similar to that of neighbouring Nice. However, as the town’s fame for lemon production increased, the success of its festival seemed to diminish, and so grew a desire to incorporate its citrus status into the festivities. In 1928, the owner of the Hotel Menton Riviera, desperate to bring more tourism to the town, staged a flower and lemon festival in the hotel’s grounds. Such was the success the festival that the town soon incorporated this twist of lemon into its traditions. The festival has since gone from strength to strength, with this year marking the 89rd edition of the event.
And you can rest easy knowing that all the lemons and oranges are sold off after the event to jam makers!
The Menton lemon, which enjoys Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, is prized by chefs the world over for its exceptional flavour (fruitier and juicier) and oil-rich peel. The Menton lemon trees are also famed for their bountiful harvest, with the boughs typically laden with about 15 fruits a piece, much greater numbers than would be expected of other varieties. There are around 15 citrus growers in the regions of Menton, Roquebrune, Sainte-Agnès and Castellar, all who enjoy the perfect climate for this delicious product.
It's worth mentioning that there is a curious myth that accompanies Menton’s lemon tradition. Apparently, Eve, having been cast out of the Garden of Eden, pinched a lemon and took it with her, so that, although doomed to walk this mortal coil forevermore, she could still enjoy the taste of her favourite fruit. Adam, later discovering his wife’s misdemeanour, instructed her to bury it somewhere so as to rid themselves of this sin. That place, of course, was Menton in the south of France.
If we’re honest, it sounds a little far-fetched.
All the same, by the 15th Century AD, lemon production had taken over in the French Riviera, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Menton’s La Fête du Citron takes place from 11-26 February. Running parallel to it, the Orchid Festival, organised by the Association of Orchidophiles and Epiphytophiles of France, is also being held, adding to the fragrant atmosphere of this glorious winter festival.
For more information about the Cote d’Azur and festivals in France, take a look at our destination guide section.
For more information, visit the festival website.
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© all images courtesy of Ville de Menton
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