Page 228 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - France

226 BACK ROADS FRANCE

1 Menton of Cap-Martin. Turn left onto Avenue
Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte Winston Churchill, following the signs
d’Azur; 06500 for Promenade Le Corbusier, to reach
From its pasta-filled menus to its Old the car park at the tip of Cap-Martin.
Town’s architecture, Italian culture
has had a profound influence on Menton’s Gardens
this little French town, located less The temperature rarely dips below
than 2 km (1 mile) from the border. 5° C (41° F) in Menton, making this
Its appeal is not just multicultural – the ideal climate for no less than
the town is also home to lovely seven stun ning gardens. Spend a
sunny after noon exploring the
gardens and a superb collection of magnificent flora, including lotus
20th-century fine art. Writer and and hibiscus, at the exotic Val
artist Jean Cocteau selected Menton Rahmeh (open Wed–Mon), or
for his Musée Jean-Cocteau (open examine Europe’s largest citrus
Wed–Mon), housed in a restored 17th- garden, Le Jardin d’Agrumes at
century bastion on the seafront. Palais Carnolès (open Wed–Mon),
the former summer residence of
ª Head west along the seafront,
the Prince of Monaco.
taking the promenade in the direction
2 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur; 06190
Above Chemin des Douaniers, the coastal Austere yet romantic Roquebrune is perched at 300 m (984 ft), a
pathway around Cap-Martin fortified medieval village overlooking lush Cap-Martin jutting into
the Mediterranean below. Just outside Roquebrune on Chemin de
Menton, the olivier millénaire (1,000-year-old olive tree) is a great
attraction for amateur botanists. Fashionistas can seek out a glimpse
WHERE TO STAY of Villa Egerton, Coco Chanel’s villa. Down on Cap-Martin, Promenade
Le Corbusier skirts the sea, sus pended between the peninsula’s
ROQUEBRUNECAPMARTIN man-made luxury and the clear blue water of the Mediterranean.
Hôtel Les Deux Frères moderate
The ten rooms at this 18th-century A 75-minute walking tour Riviera’s wealthiest residents. Start
former schoolhouse offer stunning The Côte d’Azur’s answer to the the walk at the parking at the
views. Restaurant Les Deux Frères is
renowned in its own right. Stop by at Hollywood Hills, the lanes that thread Cap’s tip next to Avenue Winston
lunch for chef Samuel Foret’s fixed- Cap-Martin are lined with luxurious Churchill’s south ernmost turn, which
price three-course menu, which mega-mansions, set well back from marks the beginning of Promenade
comes with half a bottle of wine. the roads and framed with bougain- Le Corbusier. Turn left and take the
1 place des Deux Frères, 06190; 04 93
28 99 00; www.lesdeuxfreres.com; villea. With a mix of pleasure palaces pedestrianized coastal walkway,
restaurant closed Mon, Sun dinner, and permanent homes, it has long passing sculptor Arlette Somazzi’s
Tue lunch been favoured by some of the bust of Charles Édouard Jeanneret,
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Where to Stay: inexpensive, under €70; moderate, €70–€150; expensive, over €150