I can’t recommend visiting the Menton Lemon Festival ‘Fête du Citron’ enough!
When life gives you lemons – throw a citrus festival; at least that’s what they do at the world-famous Menton Lemon Festival (Fête du Citron). Nestled on the sun-drenched French Riviera, Menton is a must-visit destination any time of year, but during this spectacular citrus celebration, it transforms into a refreshing wonderland of lemon sculptures, colourful parades, and zesty festivities.
As someone who appreciates colour, culture and craft, carnivals and festivals are my cup of chai. So, when I heard about this refreshing celebration, I squeezed the moment and booked a flight to Côte d’Azur.
What is the Fête du Citron?
Why does a town on the French Riviera dedicate an entire festival to lemons? The answer lies in Menton’s rich citrus heritage. Menton lemons have been grown here since 1341, and by the 19th century, the town had earned the title of ‘Europe’s Lemon Capital.’
The region’s Mediterranean microclimate gives Menton lemons a distinct fragrance, flavour, and quality that set them apart from any other citrus in the world. Ironically, the prized Menton lemons are too precious to be used in the festival itself.
Instead, around 140 tonnes of lemons and oranges are brought in to build the festival’s awe-inspiring citrus sculptures and fruity carnival floats. The heart of the event, the Exhibition of Citrus Patterns, is free for all to explore, showcasing larger-than-life lemon masterpieces. However, if you want to experience the real spectacle, the Golden Fruit Parade you’ll need to buy a ticket.
Each year, the festival is themed and in 2025 it was Journey into the Star, giving the event a dazzling cosmic twist, turning the streets of Menton into a citrus-infused intergalactic wonderland.
What happens at the Menton lemon festival?
Fête du Citron is a fun, colourful and family-friendly celebration of citrus fruit. The festival is squeezed into three main activities.
- Fruit sculptures
Free to enter sculpture gardens/exhibition of citrus patterns where you’ll see a number of giant 11-foot sculptures in Biovès Gardens which is a short walk from the train station. Each one is made from thousands of lemons and oranges attached to frames with elastic bands and fibre glass elements. Alongside the towering fruity creations, there are market stalls selling all manner of lemon merchandise. You can visit them any time during the festival period. There’s also a bridge in the middle of the garden that you can walk across to get a higher view overlooking them.
- Street parades
See the festival parades. These take place on specific dates, the Golden Fruit parades are in the afternoons and are an hour-long carnival style parade with themed floats made from oranges and lemons and performers, dancers, theatrical shows accompanying them. There’s also a Night-Time parade version.
- Workshops and tours
Want a hands-on experience? You can book activities like a lemon tart-making workshop or even tour a Menton lemon farm to see where these famous fruits grow. These experiences sell out fast, so be sure to book your tickets early on the official Menton Lemon Festival website.
Diaries out! When is the Menton lemon festival?
The perfect excuse to fly to France to catch some winter sun, Fête du Citron takes place over two weeks starting mid-February until at the beginning of March. I visited on the final day of 2025, Sunday 2nd March. Throughout that time, you can visit the installations every day, but the carnival processions only occur on specific days, so I’d recommend timing a visit to coincide with one.
Fancy a squeeze? Here’s how to get to the Menton lemon festival
Thankfully, it’s easy peasy lemon squeezy to get to Menton for a daytrip. It’s around a 50-minute train ride from Nice, or a 90-minute bus journey. The only sour issue you may face is how busy the trains get, mine was completely full of many people standing the whole way. Once you arrive in Menton it’s just a five-minute stroll into town where you’ll be greeted by a number of giant 11-foot sculptures in Biovès Gardens. This is the area that’s open access to all.
How to buy tickets for Fête du Citron and which ones to choose
You can buy your tickets online before you go, they’re available from the official Menton lemon festival website. Though I booked mine (standing tickets for 16 euros) in advance, I checked the week before and they were still available. I wasn’t sure whether to buy seated or standing tickets, but I’m so pleased I chose standing. That said, I recommend seating if you simply want to relax and watch the revelries. You get great views, and it will be much more comfortable. Standing was ideal for me as it meant I could take full length videos and photos of performers.
When to arrive and where to stand for the best parade views
Timing is everything when it comes to experiencing either the Golden Fruit Parade or Night Time Parade in all their citrusy splendour. I booked my ticket for the 2:30pm parade, but festival organisers recommend arriving in Menton by 11:00am. Trust me, that’s not too early.
Arriving ahead of the event gives you plenty of time to soak up the buzzing atmosphere and make the most of your day trip to Menton. Spend your extra time:
- Exploring the citrus sculpture gardens and taking pics of the towering lemon masterpieces.
- Strolling along Menton’s scenic beaches for some Riviera relaxation. There are also markets here and it’s a great place for a picnic.
- Browse the charming lemon-themed shops and take home some tangy souvenirs.
- Enjoying a leisurely coffee or lunch at a local café before the festivities begin.
Menton is a Mediterranean gem, and it would be a shame to only visit for the festival without exploring its sun-drenched streets, stunning coastline, and citrus-scented markets. I say, arrive early, take your time, and squeeze every drop of magic out of the day.
Where to stand at Menton lemon festival
The parade section is walled off and there’s a ticket and bag check before you’re let in. I joined the queue an hour before at 1.30 and it moved quickly. Once inside, if you’re not heading to pre-booked seats, you’ll need to walk around to find a spot you’re happy to stand in. There are no barriers so you can move freely.
Like any street event of this nature there will be people who queue up and take front rows but bizarrely it was empty directly in front of the grandstand seats at the entrance (there are some facing the street and some facing the sea which are more crowded.) This was a great place to be able to sit with a wall against you or to stand up. Other people will prefer being at the back, there are cafes and coffee shops open so you may prefer to get a drink and enjoy it from a distance. It’s great there are so many options.
Top tips for visiting the Menton lemon festival
Go shopping
If you’ve ever wanted to buy anything in lemon print, you’ll find it in Menton from clothing to home interiors to a dog-shaped lemon candle, lemon scented perfumes and lemon edibles to actual lemons. Interestingly, and I’m not sure if this is a Sunday thing, but all the lemon shops were open, but many other shops were closed. Supermarkets were open though to buy drinks and light snacks.
Dress up
I genuinely thought a lot of visitors would be dressed in citrus attire, like lemon print clothing or lemon hats, however I was wrong! The truth is I was the only person I saw during the eight hours I spent in Menton, other than one girl wearing lemon earrings and this couple who made their own costumes – a lemon and a lemonade stand. Props to them, they looked so good! So why is this under tips? My tip is to show up in some form of lemon fashion because everyone I encountered loved and appreciated my efforts. I got stopped continuously for photos but mostly people gave me thumbs up or just told me how fabulous my efforts were. Which essentially is a brilliant way to chat to and meet people, even if they speak another language.
I was officially crowned Madame Citron too, (by many senior gentlemen who stopped me in the street and called out ‘Madame Citron.’) I was glad they appreciated my handmade earrings, necklace, lemon fascinator and decoupaged bangle.
Visit the Festival of Orchids
If you’re into flowers it costs just 2 euros to visit an indoor orchid festival which is adjacent to the sculpture garden. I didn’t end up going but if you want to go, aim to do this before the parade because after the parade the queues were very long though it’s open until 7pm so perhaps leave it to much later when the area gets quieter.
See the sculptures at night
When it gets dark the sculptures are lit up and the gardens are much quieter so that’s also a great time to visit them. I was able to see them like this on the walk back to the train station. There are also evening processions, if you prefer to miss the heat and sunny rays of the daytime.
It’s fine to visit alone
Visiting the Menton lemon festival is something that is brilliant activity to do on your own. You may need help asking some other visitors to take photos of you but that’s easy enough. If you’re going with someone else or family the procession is a little trickier as you’ll need to find a space that you can all fit in so keep that in mind.
While you’re at it, visit the Nice Carnival
While you’re in the South of France, spend a day at Nice Carnival too as the dates overlap. On this trip I spent Saturday in Nice and Sunday in Menton giving me two whole fun days of colourful festive fun – more on Nice coming soon!
I hope seeing this blog post has enticed you to visit the Menton lemon festival. The main reason I decided to write it was that I heard about it from seeing one photo – yes one photo was all it took to convince me I had to see and visit Fête du Citron with my own eyes – I hope you can go too.
By Momtazbh
