Menton: Everything you need to know about the Fête du Citron 2024
This year marks the 90th edition of the event - © Fête du Citron website
We’ve got dates, prices, the theme, the corso (float parade) schedule… plus a look at the history of this unique festival!
It’s one of the must-see winter events on the Côte d’Azur : the Fête du Citron de Menton (Menton lemon festival) will be back from 17 February to 3 March for its 90th edition.
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This year’s theme? “From Olympia to Menton”. A nod, of course, to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
A little history lesson…
The Festival dates back to the end of the 19th century, 1875 to be precise, when Menton’s hoteliers were looking for a way to liven up the coastal town during the winter. They suggested a parade to the town council, and it was born a year later.
The event was a success with local residents and wealthy tourists alike. Winter holidays on the Côte d’Azur were very popular at the time. Kings, princes and artists were regular visitors, and very much enjoyed this new attraction. In 1882, the parade caused a sensation, with Queen Victoria attending in person, and a spectacular fireworks display over la baie de Garavan.
The festivities soon extended into the evenings, with the locals taking advantage of the darkness to play “Moucouleti” or “Moccoletti”, each holding a small candle. The aim was to keep your own candle burning, while blowing out your neighbours’. Pierre Masséna wrote: “the young man’s challenge was to try, with great dexterity, to extinguish the candle of a young lady, who was holding her burning candle above her head. If the young man achieved the feat, he could relight the blackened wick and receive a kiss as a reward.”
It wasn’t until 1929 that the hitherto classic carnival ‘went citrus’. At the time, Menton was still the continent’s leading lemon exporter, and a hotelier had the unusual but bright idea: of organising an exhibition of flowers and citrus fruits in the gardens of the Hôtel Riviera.
It was a triumph, and the following year, citrus fruits were once again in the limelight, but this time in the streets. Carts of shrubs planted with oranges and lemons were part of the procession, convincing the municipality, which was keen to develop tourism, to give the Menton parade a typically local flavour. The Lemon Festival was officially launched in 1934. The first citrus and flower exhibition in the Biovès gardens was organised two years later and was also a great success.
Recognised by the French Ministry of Culture, the Lemon Festival was included in France’s inventory of intangible cultural heritage in 2019. Since its creation, the Lemon Festival has been cancelled three times: during the Second World War between 1940 and 1946, in 1991 because of the war in Iraq and in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2020 edition was also cut short.
Lemons… that aren’t from Menton!
Since its creation, the Lemon Festival attracts more than 200,000 visitors every year, with a wide range of themes: from Tintin to Lucky Luke, La Fontaine’s fables, Perrault’s Tales, Islands of the World, Regions of France, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Broadway, Rock and Opera… Each theme inspires a parade of highly original and imaginative floats.
140 tonnes of fruit (now imported from Spain), a million rubber bands and a fortnight’s hard work by around a hundred people are now involved in creating the structures. It’s worth remembering that the Menton lemon itself has a ‘protected geographical indication’, and is therefore far too rare to be grown in sufficient quantity for the parades.
But anti-waste advocates needn’t worry: the fruit isn’t thrown away once the festival is over. It is taken down, sorted by condition, and sold on the market.
Have you heard of John Lemon?
As you wander around the many events that make up the Lemon Festival, you may come across a huge lemon on legs. This is John Lemon, the event’s mascot.
The character was created in 2012, just after the 79th Lemon Festival, to convey the values of the event and the town, while entertaining visitors. In 2013, John Lemon was officially launched and there is now a range of derivative products featuring him. The mascot even had his own NFT collection in 2023, thanks to street artist Faben.
2024: an Olympic year
As mentioned earlier, the Fête du Citron 2024 will be organised on the theme “D’Olympie à Menton” (From Olympia to Menton). It will run from 17 February to 3 March.
There are two weeks of festivities, with a wide range of events. Come and admire the displays of citrus fruit designs in the Biovès Gardens, dance to the music of the Golden Fruit Corsos, be blown away by the evening Corsos, explore the Crafts Fair or breathe in the fragrances of the Orchid Festival.
Admission to all these events is free, with the exception of the daytime and night-time Corsos. Timetables, prices and other practical information are listed below:
Practical details:
- Festival dates: from 17 February to 3 March 2024
- Exhibition of citrus fruit designs – Jardins Biovès: daily, free admission
- Salon de l’artisanat (craft fair) – Palais de l’Europe: daily from 10 am to 6 pm (from 2 pm on 17 February), free admission
- Orchid festival – Palais de l’Europe: daily from 10 am to 6 pm (from 2 pm on 17 February), free admission
- Corsos des fruits d’or (golden fruit parade) – Promenade du Soleil (Seafront) : 18 & 25 February and 3 March from 2.30 pm to 4 pm
- Grandstand seats: 29 euros (adults) / 12 euros (children under 14)
- Standing room in the walkways : 16 euros (adults) / 8 euros (children aged 6 to 14) / free for children under 6
- Evening corsos – Promenade du Soleil (Seafront) : 22 and 29 February from 9 pm to 10.30 pm
- Grandstand seats: 29 euros (adults) / 12 euros (children under 14)
- Standing room in the walkways : 16 euros (adults) / 8 euros (children aged 6 to 14) / free for children under 6
- Tickets and further information at fete-du-citron.com
- Please note: animals are not allowed at the corsos, on the parade route, or in the Palais de l’Europe