Menton lies on the Baie de Soleil, only a few miles from the Italian border on the Cote D'Azur. This aristocratic tourist town has a long promenade and a shingle beach. The 17th century fort near the quai Napoleon III is now the Art Museum Jean Cocteau and the old town has an Italianate square, Parvis St Michel, as well as several beautiful churches. Across the border you will find the Hanbury Botanical Gardens, created in 1867 by Sir Thomas Hanbury with a worldwide collection of exotic plants.