Menton weather through the year, with the nearest official figures

Menton built its reputation on its climate, and the tourist office still sells it with a round number, 316 days of sunshine a year. I wanted to give you something sturdier than that, and here’s the first surprise. Météo-France publishes no climate averages for Menton, no climate sheet and no data for its station on Infoclimat either. So I’ll show you the two nearest official sheets, Monaco’s, about 10 km away, and Nice’s, and tell you what I’d do with them.

Why the Monaco figures?

Because it’s the nearest station with an official sheet, on the same stretch of coast. It sits 131 metres above the sea and its figures cover 1981-2010 for temperature and 1983-2010 for rain. Nice, at sea level, has newer averages for 1991-2020 and also measures sunshine, which the Monaco sheet doesn’t. Together they give a fair picture of Menton, which is what matters when you’re packing.

The two sheets agree more than you’d think. The yearly mean is 16.4°C in Monaco and 16.3°C in Nice, and August tops out at 26.9°C and 27.9°C respectively. The real difference is the winter night. Nice’s January low averages 5.8°C against 7.4°C in Monaco, so I’d take Monaco’s numbers as the better guide to Menton’s mild nights.

What I won’t give you is the sea temperature at Menton, because no official source I’ve come across measures it there.

Winter, the season that made Menton

In January and February the Monaco sheet shows an average high of 13°C and a low of 7.4°C. Frost is almost a curiosity, 0.7 days a year on average, and the record low is -5.2°C, in February 1986. It’s layers-and-a-jacket weather rather than big-coat weather, and it explains why the town’s gardens are full of tropical species.

The tourist office bills the Maria Serena garden, by the Italian border, as the mildest in France. It’s a marketing line, but it fits what you see in Menton’s gardens, with palms and cycads growing outdoors. February is also Lemon Festival month, and the driest of the winter, at 48.4 mm.

Spring, my favourite time

If you ask me when I’d go, I’d say May without much hesitation. The average high climbs to 20.4°C, rain stays at 49 mm and Nice logs 270.9 hours of sunshine that month. The gardens are in flower and you can still tackle the old town’s steps at midday without suffering.

I like April too, at 16.7°C, although it has the most rainy days of the spring, 7.3 on average. March is cooler, at 14.9°C, and very quiet. I’d pack a light jacket and something for the rain.

What’s the weather like in summer?

July and August are the driest and sunniest months. In Monaco the average high is 26.6 and 26.9°C, with lows of 21°C, and July sees just 13.7 mm of rain. In Nice, July reaches 349.3 hours of sunshine. The Monaco sheet counts 4.8 days a year at 30°C or more, and the record is 34.5°C, in August 2009.

It’s the season for Menton’s beaches, but I’d plan the day the other way round from winter. Market and old town early, beach or a museum in the heat of the day, and a stroll at sunset.

Autumn, when the rain arrives

Here’s the catch in the Riviera climate. September is still summer, with a 24°C high, but rain climbs to 72.5 mm. October is the wettest month of the year at 128.7 mm, and November follows with 103.2 mm. In Nice, September and October also bring the most thunderstorm days, about four each.

That doesn’t mean it rains every day, because October averages 7.3 rainy days, so the water tends to come in a few heavy bursts. I’d pack a folding umbrella and an indoor plan, which in Menton has a name, the Cocteau museum.

For the forecast, go to Météo-France

For the actual days of your trip, averages are no use. Météo-France publishes a forecast for Menton, and as France’s national weather service it’s the one I’d check a few days before. If you’re also stopping in the Principality, in Monaco weather I set the same averages against what Monaco itself has measured in recent years. And to choose where to stay according to the season, see where to stay in Menton.