Escape into the Gardens

The gardens in Menton unveil a history that dates back to the 18th century. Attracted by the mild climate and the city’s popularity as a winter residence, botanists, especially English ones, introduced tropical and subtropical species that were wonderfully suited to the region. The legacy of this period is an array of magnificent gardens! Maria Serena, Serre de la Madone, Fontana Rosa, Clos du Peyronet, Val Rahmeh-Menton Botanical Garden and Les Colombières Garden are almost all open to the general public. Discover this botanical heritage through our guided tours!

A “Jardin Remarquable”, the Citroneraie estate, planted mainly with olive and lemon trees, is also home to an incredible variety of citrus fruits and other celebrated hybrids such as “Buddha’s hand” and Kaffir lime varieties. Over time, this private property has developed an exceptional ornamental garden of tropical plants including mango, camphor and cedar trees…There are no lemons in the Orangeraie! This magnificent palace garden, formerly the Grand Hotel of Venice, is home to orange trees, pomelos and Bitter Orange trees… Around the former summer residence of the Princes of Monaco, the citrus garden of Palais de Carnolès is the largest collection of citrus trees in Europe, with no less than 137 different varieties of this species, some of which are very rare, such as the Bitter Orange tree. A garden filled with treasures!  La Casetta, Menton’s city-owned orchard, offers an outstanding view over the Mediterranean! This garden of paradise continues the collections of the Palais de Carnolès garden, where 150 varieties of citrus fruits flourish on the hills above Garavan.