The amazing Lemon Festival in Menton

You get more than a slice of lemon at this incredible festival on the French Riviera. The Menton Lemon Festival (Fête du Citron®) celebrates the citrus fruit in all its glory, in the place that has long been the home of lemon production in France. 

Why the Menton Lemon Festival is unmissable

It’s one of the most remarkable, idiosyncratic and colourful festivals in France. Every February in the south of France, the town of Menton has a two-week long lemon party. And why not? The lemons it grows are regarded as some of the finest in Europe. Menton lemons are sweeter than most, with an appealing aroma, and have specially protected status. 

The Menton Lemon Festival is nothing less than a carnival of citrus fruit, with extravagant floats and sculptures made almost entirely of lemons and oranges. Fête du Citron® runs for two weeks and attracts crowds of up to 200,000 people, who flock to see the day and night parades and the citrus-themed gardens.

The Menton Lemon Festival never fails to amaze 

History of the Fête du Citron Menton

The harbour town of Menton, near Nice, started having a carnival to mark the arrival of spring in the 1870s. The carnival was so popular with wealthy people who wintered on the French Riviera that even Queen Victoria once attended. Locals loved it too. In 1928 a hotelier in Menton had the idea of exhibiting citrus fruits in his hotel gardens, and this flower festival became Fête du Citron® in 1934, as a way of celebrating the town’s standing as the lemon-growing capital of Europe.

Every year there is a different theme to the festival, and up to 150 tons of citrus fruit are usually imported from Spain to create the floats (Menton’s own lemons are too valuable to be used). 

What happens at Menton’s Lemon Festival?

Fête du Citron® really is like nothing else. 

Spectacular parades and floats

The highlight of the festival are the parades through the town, which take place on Sunday afternoons (‘Corso des fruits d’or’) and Thursday evenings (‘Corso nocturne’). Large crowds gather well in advance of the parades, which consist of spectacular floats that progress down the Promenade du Soleil. The floats have to be seen to be believed, and take months to make. There’s also dancers, confetti, music and marching bands. If it feels like a carnival, that’s what it is! 

Every year there is a theme – in 2024 it was sport 

Lemon and orange sculptures

Throughout the duration of the festival several giant citrus sculptures, the ‘Citrus Pattern Exhibition’, are installed in the town centre, in the Biovès Gardens. This is also where you’ll find the stalls selling lemon-themed gifts, food and drink. Every year the creators of the Menton lemon sculptures outdo themselves with ever more incredible inventions. From elephants to Viking longboats, Chinese dragons to giant rowers and wrestlers, you could literally see anything in citrus form! 

Street performances and live music

Nothing encapsulates the carnival atmosphere of the Menton Lemon Festival more than the dancers and the music. The costumes of the dancers are extraordinary, and you’ll hear brass bands and folk groups, playing the traditional music of the region, as well as orchestras, samba, calypso and any musical style in keeping with the festival’s theme.

Exhibitions and workshops

As well as the main citrus sculptures, the festival sees flower displays, exhibition gardens, a craft market and opportunities to find out more about the lemon trade in Menton. Lemon growers offer tours of their farms and facilities, while there are also workshops for baking and perfume making. 

Plan your trip to Menton

The lemon and pastel coloured houses of Menton

Catching the Menton Lemon Festival would be the highlight of any late winter trip to the south of France. 

How to drive to Menton from Calais

Menton is on the French Riviera, so you will have a 12 hour journey from the LeShuttle terminal in Calais, following the A26 via Reims, and then the A6 via Lyon. You will have to pay tolls on this route. Most people would want to break this up over a couple of days, with perhaps an overnight stop around halfway. How about Dijon – a city at the heart of Burgundy, where there might just be enough time for a vineyard tour or a wine tasting? 

How long does the Menton Lemon Festival last?

The Menton Lemon Festival usually lasts 16 days, including three weekends. 

When is the Menton Lemon Festival?

The next Menton Lemon Festival is being held from 14 February to 1 March 2026. 

Other things to do in Menton during the festival

Get a lovely view of Menton’s bay from the Basilica steps

Menton is a beautiful town on the Mediterranean coast, with a sandy beach, marina, promenade  and narrow, charming streets that snake up the hillside. Even the houses are lemon-coloured! Being so close to the border with Italy, there is an Italian influence over the town’s cuisine and architecture. 

Make sure you visit the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel, the 17th-century church which overlooks Menton. Of special note is the 53-metre high bell tower, the stunning altarpiece and the decorative forecourt, consisting of 250,000 individual pebbles. The church is considered one of France’s finest in the Baroque style.

The avant-garde artist, film director and writer Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) made Menton his home, and there are several places in the town that bear Cocteau’s influence.  Exhibitions of Cocteau’s eclectic and remarkable work are displayed in the Jean Cocteau Museum in the Bastion, the town’s historic military fort. Cocteau also produced a mural to decorate a room in the Town Hall which later become a civil wedding venue. The Wedding Hall is open to the public during the week for a small charge. 

Day trips and nearby adventures

Other things you can do during your stay in Menton: 

•    Explore the picturesque hilltop villages of the French Riviera 

•    Drive the Route Napoleon from the Mediterranean to the Alps 

•    Take a day trip to Nice, where you might catch the city’s carnival, also held in late February

•    Feel the glamour and beauty of  the Côte d'Azur by driving Les Trois Corniches, the trio of coastal roads between Nice and Monaco

Don’t let this citrus celebration pass you by

What will they make of lemons next? Find out at the Menton Lemon Festival. Get to France for your trip to the festival of zest with LeShuttle – it’s just a 35-minute journey from Folkestone to Calais.