The bus from Nice to Monaco runs every 15 minutes and takes about an hour to get there, and for just $1 euro! We figured that the bus must be subsidized by the casino to encourage people to visit. On the way there we were on an express bus that went inland and through a long tunnel that dumps you out to some magnificent views of the Mediterranean. The bus on the way back took us along the coast and passed by some of the most beautiful towns overlooking stunning bays.
Monaco has a perception of being a ritzy place and it did not disappoint. Although we are definitely not the type of people who can afford to truly be a part of it, we could at least dabble.
Serendipitously we decided to get off the bus and stepped out at the front door of the tourist info office. From there it was a block away from this narrow park with 4 separate fountains. All of this leads you directly to the Monte Carlo Casino.
This is just one of the dozen or so Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins, etc. we saw parked or driving around. Places like Beverly Hills may have just as many, but not in the concentration as they are seen here. The Monte Carlo Casino, inaugurated in 1863 along with Roulette, is an impressive building that looks out onto the sea on the other side. It was closed when we initially got there, but we circled backed later. You have to pay 10 Euro to even get into the table room, but you can walk in the lobby and also a little side room with low-brow slot machines.
Monaco is its own country, but it just seems like another super nice city in the French Riviera. The only real difference is the flag and license plates. The city sits on bluffs overlooking three bays and backs up onto the foothills of a steep seaside mountain. The middle bay is a huge harbor filled with million dollar yachts. The city is very vertical, with much taller buildings than we saw in Nice or Cannes.
The yachts that we saw were incredible. Nowhere have we seen such enormous yachts and in such number. We could really experience the impressiveness of their size because you are able to walk up right next to them. In fact, if you were brave enough, you could probably scurry aboard some of them that have their ladders down. Many of them had home ports in London, Georgetown Cayman Islands, and other exotic global locations.
We walked through the main commercial section of the city, which includes this pedestrian zone of shops and restaurants that is lined with orange trees. We stumbled upon a small bakery and had a delicious lunch of quiches and a pizza-like food covered in onions.
After lunch, we walked up to the hilltop palace complete with a pacing guard. The area is a large open square surrounded by the palace and other government buildings. There are lookouts onto harbors on both sides, and out towards the sea there is a community of really nice homes.
This may be one of the best ‘handheld self-photos’ we have taken. This is the view out onto the main harbor, the boardwalk and they city/country.
Lamborghinis are everywhere. This is the oceanographic museum that has an amazing location sitting high on the cliff above the Mediterranean. Next to it is a really nice garden that we took a stroll through.
At the end of the garden was a view of the other harbor surrounded by a busy residential and commercial area.
From the end of the park we looked across the street to the Saint Nicholas Cathedral. It is quite big even amongst the sizeable buildings of Monaco and is glaringly bright white. Unfortunately, it was closed for construction (so we’ll have to come back) and we didn’t get to see the tombs of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly. They adore her here and there are plaques all over the city commemorating special occasions in her life like her wedding, meeting special guests, and site dedications to name a few.
We stopped for an afternoon crepe, the perfect food to keep you going.
Another attraction in Monaco is the Prince’s car collection, that includes about 100 cars ranging from horse-drawn buggies, early crank engine cars, military vehicles, F1 race cars, classic European cars, Rolls Royce’s, Cadillac’s and everything in between. Most of them date from the 70’s an older and what is amazing is that they are all in mint condition. The following is a taste.
There were about 5 military vehicles, all from the US Army. I think I had this same jeep in plastic and a 50th of the size in my car collection.
There were a bunch of different race cars from rally sports to F1 and even a speed boat.
This 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost was pretty impressive. It is absolutely enormous and even though ancient, very luxurious.
They also had a Mercedes McLaren. It’s a much newer car than the rest of the collection, so the only common theme tying it together is that it is obscenely expensive.
On the other side of the country is a Japanese garden that is wedged between skyscrapers and the sea. It was pretty small, but quite peaceful.
On the other side of the gardens was an exhibit showcasing photography by a British couple who lived in Papua New Guinea during the 70’s and documented some of the local tribes. There were some amazing photos and we learned a lot about the tribal society that existed there at the time.
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