Jul 04, 2018
The small country of Monaco
Part of the reason we stopped in Nice was to go to Monaco. I grew up following the story of the American actress Grace Kelly who became the Princess of Monaco in April of 1956 ( I was only 3 at the time ). I have always wanted to go to Monaco so Saturday June 2nd was the day. Being such a small area we thought that we would just go on our own and walk about. When I started researching the details the night before I discovered that the country actually had lots of hills and walking was all about ups and downs. I was at the end of my energy levels and knew that I just was not able to take chances on wandering about and not seeing anything. About 10PM I remembered that the excellent free walking tour guide we had seen Nice with was conducting a paid tour to Monaco the next morning. After finding the tour online and checking the itinerary we decided to book the tour. A very last minute change of plan. As it turned out, it was the best 60 euros we had spent on tours.
It was very close by train but there are rotating train strikes every three days and the service is slowed down. The waiting area at the Nice train station.
Instead of running every 20 minutes the trains ran only every 40 – 50 minutes or as it turned out even longer as we experienced on our return. If you look mid photo above and to the left you will see a piano. This is provided so that folks can play or enjoy someone else’s music. We listened to four different styles of music, all very very good. The two fellows shown ended up playing some duets. A fun way to pass the time.
Besides us there were only two other fellows on the tour and our guide. As it turned out we spent most of our time waiting for them. The tour went much longer than advertised and included much more walking than anticipated. We left Nice at 9:45AM and did not return to the train station until 5:30PM. We had only planned on spending 2 -4 hours in Monaco had we gone on our own. Fortunately Colin willing carried a second pair of walking shoes for me to change into at the halfway point. This is the very posh Monaco train station.
This furry chair was one of the first things we saw in a shop window. I don’t think the fur was real…..
So very very much money here and so many luxurious vehicles to purchase. Monaco is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and almost every car is luxurious.
It is the law that each shop, store or restaurant must display a photo of the Royal Family.
Monaco is the second smallest country in the world at two square kilometers. The Vatican is smaller. It would fit into New York Central Park plus another 2/3 of Monaco. There is no airport but everyone flies via helicopter to the Nice Airport rather than travel by car. It does use the Euro as its currency but does have some Euro coins with its own Monaco stamp. There are only 40,000 people who are Monaco residents and they are not all wealthy. After all someone has to clean the houses, work in the shops and other menial tasks. One in three are millionaires. We were told that if you took all the money in Monaco and divide it by 40,000 residents that each person would be worth 1.5 million euros.
Just outside the Royal Palace.
Albert II, Prince of Monaco was in residence as per the flag flying above the tower. Our tour guide did not know that little fact. The Prince’s mother was Grace Kelly who died in an auto accident in September 1982.
Such a view from up on the hill next to the palace. Yes I had to climb to get up there.
The yacht club is the part of the building on the extreme right. There are only 200 members. In order to become a member you have to be very rich, you must be asked to join by a member, your yacht must be approved and then you must have a private meeting with the Prince of Monaco and he gets the final yay or nay.
Quite the array of yachts.
From here we had to walk down to sea level and then we could have taken a ferry from this side of the bay but no, the tour walked all the way around and then back up the hill on the other side.
If you look at that tall skyscraper in the photo above and go to the right about two inches you will see another white high rise. If you look very carefully you will see a blue edifice just to the left of that tower. This is a rendering.
The most expensive penthouse in the world ( even Dubai ) is for sale in that tower. At 350 million euro it is still for sale.
Some very large sails.
This is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée or simply the Monaco Cathedral where Grace Kelly married Prince Raynier III. I was so disappointed that it was closed for a private wedding and we could not see inside. Both of their tombs are there.
The only way Monaco can grow is to reclaim land from the ocean. The red area is what was originally Monaco. The pink area was reclaimed in 1880. The dark orange area was reclaimed in 1960 and 1965 while the light orange areas were reclaimed in 1970. Yellow areas were reclaimed in 2002 and the blue area reclamation started in 2012 and will go until 2014.
Still walking. I had just changed my shoes.
We were walking along part of the Grand Prix route which had run the weekend prior. The take down was happening.
Stopped by the police. We later saw these two cruising past the casino.
The Monte – Carlo casino. There is a restaurant to the left where a glass of beer costs 60 euro. If your vehicle is fancy enough you can park just out front.
I did go into the lobby ( can you see me crossing the street ) and into the very tiny area of the casino where people like me could go. I peered around the corner and all I could see was Swarovski crystals covering all surfaces!
A full shot of the Monte – Carlo Casino. This opulently decorated marble and bronze casino has all the glitz and glamour that has made this city famous. There is so much history as to how it came about including the story of the Grimaldi Family. By the way is you are a Monegasque, a resident of Monaco, you are not allowed to go into the casino even if you are a multimillionaire, I think they don’t want the residents to gamble.
My only disappointment is that we never saw James Bond 😉 We finally got back to Nice and once we walked back to the apartment we simple put our feet up, rested a bit, enjoyed some wine and headed out to an early dinner as we missed lunch because the tour went so long. So very happy we did this tour as we would never have seen what we did nor learn so much about Monaco. We were in bed by 9:30PM that night. My feet hurt just writing this post. No wonder I was worn out when I got back home here.
I truly loved my visit to Monaco which by the way ends where the buildings do. The greenery above the buildings of Monaco are agricultural areas that belong to France. Italy is to the right of the photo, lower down. If you have time, research how Monaco came to be, it is most interesting. Thanks for this panoramic Colin. As you can see we did not have the best weather but at least it wasn’t raining.
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Wow, what an interesting post! Monaco is, I think, a place that needs to be seen to be understood. I can’t imagine having the money to buy clothes that would make me comfortable visiting there. You looked so elegant — love that dress!
Thank you so much Rae. Colin wore his normal, shorts and a shirt as did the tour guide. Most of the people we saw were tourists. The ‘elite’ did dress up more but not over the top, it was a subtle hint of money other than the cars of course. I love that dress also as it fits in perfectly everywhere. Of course my black and white hat matches but sadly that got torn so my ensemble was not complete. I roll it up when on the bus or subway and clip it to my bag and I think it got rubbed and split. I do have another on order.
ONCE AGAIN, SUCH WONDERFUL PHOTOS. IN 1965, I DID GO INTO THE CASINO’S AREA FOR THE WEE PEONS AND ACTUALLY PLACED ONE BET AT A TABLE, THEN PUT A FEW FRANCS INTO A SLOT MACHINE. (CURRENCY OF THE DAY). DIDN’T WIN A THING. THEN GOT A PEEK INTO ONE OF THE ROOMS WHERE THE RICHEST OF THE RICH GAMBLED. MOSTLY FROM THE MIDDLE EAST. THE RUBY RED CURTAIN WAS ABRUPTLY DRAWN WHEN THEY SAW ME PEEKING IN THROUGH THE TINY SLIT. SORRY YOU MISSED SEEING JAMES BOND! I MISSED SEEING PRINCESS GRACE AND PRINCE RAINIER!! THE OPULENCE IN MONACO WAS VISIBLE ALMOST EVERYWHERE YOU LOOKED.YOU HAD A WONDERFUL TOUR, ALBEIT LONG. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING. DO YOU REMEMBER? YOU WOULD NEVER ANSWER MY QUESTION WHEN YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO NICE! I KEPT SAYING IT WOULD BE SUCH A SHAME IF YOU DIDN’T GO TO MONACO WHEN YOU WERE SO CLOSE AND YOU NEVER LET ON. THIS BEAUTIFUL TRIP WAS ON YOUR ITINERARY AND I’M SO HAPPY IT WAS. I THINK YOU REALLY ENJOYED IT.
So glad that you enjoyed the photos and the post. Now they just have about a dozen slot machines in that area, no tables. Yes the tour went over double the time and the guide answered our endless questions. I can’t divulge all my serest or I would have no surprises to post. Wait until you read about what we are planning for next year. Yes I really truly enjoyed that day.
Again, great photos. I see Monaco every year when I watch the F1 race through the streets on tv. I’ve only been to Monaco on my PlayStation 3 when I race cars on those same F1 streets from my couch with controller in my hands. LOL
I’m loving these pictures from your trip.
Unlike you I had no idea about the races. That is what makes life interesting, we all have different interests regarding the same thing.
When I see a place like Monaco with such beautiful people wearing one-of-a-kind famous designer clothes, I think to myself “what a lot of facelifts and liposuction.” LOL!
Umm, can’t say that I noticed that aspect of things. I really did enjoy my time there and you know that I am a basic bottom line person.
Yes, you are a basic bottom line person, and I believe you would suffer intellectually if you had to live in Monaco for say a year (and I haven’t even met you, but did get an invitation from you to visit Canada if we became too fed up with the state of affairs in the US). When I visited Monaco with a friend in 1974, my friend had a friend who owned or ran a dress shop; and we spent three nights with her in her tiny apartment. That is a time when three young women in their twenties get together and gossip. Since Rose ran a dress shop, she knew all her Monaco clients’ gossip. Conversations between clients in the shop surrounded who lately had plastic surgery done, who were the new “trust-fund” babies in town, and would Princess Kelly be attending the party they were choosing a new dress for. A lot of ladies came back in for alterations as they had lost more weight. When her shop closed, we all “dressed to be killed” in one of Rose’s dresses (which I could not ever afford) in order to go out on the town; it took Rose awhile to find me a Size 8; most sizes in her store were like 1s, 2s, and 3s (you had to make a European size conversion to the correct US size). I asked Rose how did her clients stay so small to fit into those small dresses, and she said they ate a lot of water cress salads. So, that night all dressed up I felt like a princess and had a great time at the opera and met a number of people Rose knew at intermission. I enjoyed the touring during the day and especially the evening’s entertainment, but no more than going to Disney World with the exception of the opera, “La Boheme.” Just couldn’t live there as it would be too superficial.
What a great story and how fun for you. I love La Boheme.