Everything is ready in Menton to welcome the holidaymakers who this summer will gather on the seafront, on rue Pietonne (the pedestrian center) and in the old town of Vieux Menton.
Only one detail is missing: the inauguration of theExplanada de Sablettes, the promenade in front of the port dominated by nightclubs, restaurants and souvenir shops.
Tourists who frequent Menton know it well, it is the beating heart of the city in summer. This stretch of promenade, interrupted for years, will become a small Promenade des Anglais, where you can walk, cycle, skate or skate without the risk of ending up under a car.
And not only will thousands of foreign tourists, many of them Italian, but also the people of Menton themselves enjoy it. According to a recent survey, a third of citizens will stay home this summer to enjoy their city.
Furthermore, the very long beach that runs throughout the city is undoubtedly a great tourist attraction. Almost completely free (those in Sablettes, Fossan, Casino) and pebbles, there is one reserved for non-smokers (plage du Fossan) and another for dogs (plage Hawaï). On summer days life concentrates here.
At the end of the afternoon or at dusk, when it is less hot, many go up the alleys that go up towards the old City where shady squares and narrow streets face the sea and emerge into the main square dominated by the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel. The old heart of Menton is hidden behind the ocher facades of the houses of the historic seaside town, with colored shutters that, now as then, protect from the attacks of the sun's rays.
At night, however, nightlife is concentrated between the pedestrian streets that lead to the Campanin Garden, the sea and the very modern building that houses the Cocteau Museum, alleys that run next to the imposing centenary building of municipal market from which aromas of garlic and basil emerge. The main street, the side streets and the small squares are a single open-air restaurant with tables everywhere and waiters entering and leaving through small doors on each corner.
