Menton in the South of France is famous as “the Town of Lemons”. Since the mid-fifteenth century, the town of Menton has been a major producer of citrus fruits in Europe. Every year it celebrates this with a colourful Festival that attracts over 250 000 visitors!
The festival lasts a few days and includes parade of floats decorated with lemons and oranges etc, marching bands, dancers and folk groups. The Casino Gardens in the centre of town are decorated in the theme of the festival, using fruit to cover the exhibits, and huge temporary statues are built and covered with citrus fruit.
The Festival takes place every February and follows a different theme each year. Past themes include Viva España, Disney, Neverland, and India.
Fête du Citron – Lemon Festival: This year is the 79th year and the theme is “Menton welcomes the regions of France”. It runs from February 17 to March 7 2012
In many small towns in the south of France you will find a yearly festival known as la fête du grand aïoli. Here the aioli is much more than a garlic mayonnaise, it is a party for the whole town and usually huge platters of boiled seasonal vegetables, fish, and hard-boiled eggs are served along with gallons of aioli. All the people gather to dance, play games and enjoy some delicious French provençal cooking .