The town of Menton, perhaps the best-kept secret on the French Riviera, has all the beauty of the better-known coastal villages but a fraction of the crowds. Its half-dozen beaches are all but empty in the off-season, and boutique-filled alleyways are relatively free of bargain-hunting tourists. This slower pace means you can revel in town’s old world ambiance. Boasting over 300 days of sunshine a year, exceptional gardens, and tasty Italian cuisine due to its position on the Franco-Italian border, an afternoon spent here is a great complement to a Riviera trip. Pro tip: In February, the town goes all out with its Lemon Festival, a celebration of spring and a throwback to the town's past, when it survived principally on citrus production. Gravity-defying floats (made almost entirely of lemons and oranges) trundle through the streets in a spectacle rivaling some of the world's most famous parades.