WOX Travel Contest / Week 20 / One Yellow day at Manton, France

Manton is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, one of the wonderful corners of the French Riviera. It doesn't matter when you visit as the weather is good at any time of the year. However, summer is much warmer and it is good to have sunscreen. I visited Manton when a rather fabulous event was taking place, namely the lemon festival. It attracts more than 200,000 people from all over the world every year.

If you are in Nice, the town can be reached by bus, train or simply rent a car. By bus it takes about one hour and 20 minutes and is the cheapest - the price is about 4 euros. By train is more comfortable and faster, but the price there is much higher. One would ask why exactly the festival is held in Menton? Well, it turned out that the town is home to a unique variety of lemon, which is very popular and quite used in gastronomy. Its aroma is very strong because it is rich in essential oils.

Legends say that when Adam and Eve left paradise, Eve took a golden fruit with her. Fearing from God, Adam begged Eve to leave the fruit, but she said she would only bury it in a place similar to the one from which she plucked it. One day they reached Menton, and he reminded them of the gardens of paradise, and so the fragrant citrus tree sprouted in that city.

Every year in Biove's gardens there are beautiful several meter figures made entirely of lemons and oranges. The citrus fruits are attached to the metal scaffolding with small rubber bands. Imagine the labor and precision required to produce these beautiful figures. Each installation has its own music that lifts the mood and creates even greater joy.
Something I didn't know is that the figures were not made with Menton lemons because they are too precious, and it turns out that the production was too small and would not have been enough to build them.

If you're wondering if attending the festival would cost you anything, my answer is no. It's completely free and you can explore everything in total peace of mind. In Manton you can buy anything made with lemons, be it lemonade, sweets, limoncello, even soap. literally has everything. Enjoy