Traveling season is getting in gear for us. We have quite a few trips penciled in for the coming months, and a few more possible ones being considered. We recently wrapped up our (mostly) coastal trip along the southern French and Spanish coasts we’d been planning for a while. After a quick flight up to Nice, our first stop was Menton, a hidden gem of the Cote d’Azur, and the very first coastal town on the French side of the southern Franco-Italian border.

Honestly, I’d never even heard of Menton before I started researching where we wanted to go on this trip, but I’m glad we stumbled upon it. We knew we wanted to stop in the French Riviera, but deserved or not, there’s a bit of a sense of pretentiousness attached to the image of many of its better-known locations. Menton was exceedingly charming, and expectedly, felt much like a hybrid of the French and Italian Rivieras.

Much of Menton’s old town, where we stayed, rests on a small, but steep hill. My calves got quite a workout, but it was worth it. The flights of stairs and narrow pedestrian roads that cut through the shops and apartments create an outstanding atmosphere. The weather was less than stellar, with cloud cover most of the time, and rain on and off, but we got treated to a few glimpses of the town with the sun breaking through for a few hours. Most of the first day we spent relaxing in town, picking shells along the beach and digging into some fresh seafood.

For our only full day on the Cote d’Azur, we strolled through the newer section of town to grab some crepes and check out some of Menton’s public gardens before catching a train to micro-country of Monaco. I’m happy we didn’t give much consideration to staying there, as the luxury vibe there was a bit much for our tastes. That said, we enjoyed the half-day trip.

I’ve always loved aquariums, and the Musée Océanographique de Monaco was a nice twist on what we typically encounter in America. Half of the building is pretty standard aquarium fare, but the other half is a museum of exhibits detailing the many years of oceanographic research of Monaco’s Prince Albert I, including specimens of some of his studies.

We also swung by the Casino de Monte Carlo out of a sense of obligation. We didn’t go in, as we’d heard it’s not really worth the price of admission if you’re not going to be gambling. Instead, we got a seat at the adjacent Café de Paris to people-watch. Afterwards, we caught the train back to Menton, snagged dinner at a great little restaurant near the ocean, and got ready for an unexpectedly turbulent journey to Carcassonne the following morning.