A garden city
The phrase “Ma ville est un jardin” captures the close relationship between Menton and its botanical heritage. Villas, parks, citrus gardens and historic estates form a continuous landscape linking architecture, memory and place.
Menton’s microclimate, sheltered by mountains and open to the sea, made acclimatisation gardens possible: tropical and subtropical plants thrive outdoors. In the nineteenth century British physician James Henry Bennet promoted Menton across Europe as a winter health resort, attracting aristocratic families and international visitors. Nearby Roquebrune-Cap-Martin also welcomed Queen Victoria, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) and Empress Eugénie, who owned Villa Cyrnos.
Val Rahmeh
Val Rahmeh’s story begins in the early twentieth century, when British general Percy Radcliffe transformed farmland into a garden named for Rahmeh. In 1957 Maybud Campbell bought the estate, enriched its collections and created spaces including a pool of lotuses and water lilies. Managed by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle since 1966, it is now a botanical garden dedicated in part to the conservation of threatened species. Sources and further reading : MNHN ↗
