On December 23, 2006 my family took winter vacation for a week to Monte Carlo, MONACO!! (instead of longtime trip to Spain). Definitely ! another european city traveling experience, that's for sure!. Our Route is from Den Haag (the place where we are living now) to Paris, from Paris to Nice, From Nice to Monaco.
We planned to stay in Nice (not Monte Carlo) as in Monte Carlo we couldn’t find our family favorite hotel, of course for reasonable price, free parking lot (we traveled by car) and children friendly. In many european cities taking our children to stay at hotel means ready for higher rate.
We traveled from Paris to Nice for 10 hours by car. We arrived at Nice before midnight and was impressed by amazing city light, we saw it from the hill road. The next day we drove from Nice over the Grande Corniche and then down the hairpin bends into Monaco for a short 20 minutes.
Monaco…
It was a unique city and its wealth was easy to find from the countless expensive cars passing by, a harbor filled with personal yachts, and streets that were immaculately clean. I never saw so many Lamborghinis, Ferraris, gigantic Yachts and Sailboats ever. In front of our car, we saw Masserati, Porche and Bentley.
With all the buildings, mansions, expensive cars & absolutely huge cruise liner boats in the harbor you could very much tell this is a very expensive place to live. All around the area is the fancy hotels with the doormen who don't let anyone in unless you are a guest. They also have every designer shop imaginable...Gucci, Prada, Cartier, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and more and more.
People who live here do not have to pay taxes and they are completely supported by tourism and proceeds from the casino. Because pay no income tax, Monaco became something of a tax haven for the private jet set. Famous faces from the sporting or cinema world flitted in and out of expensive boutiques or zoomed through the streets in expensive cars, knowing their money was safe in Monaco. Mhhmm…playground of the rich and the famous!! It seems there is no lower or middle class.
The Grimaldi family monarchy is still in place here. Monaco's history is pretty much the history of The Grimaldi family. The country is their private playground. The Grimaldi family is well known for glamorous way of life and also scandal !... ups!
Prince Rainier's rule modernized Monaco and weaned it from its dependence on gambling revenue, which in recent years has accounted for less than 5% of the GDP. During his reign, Prince Rainier maintained Monaco’s political, economical and social stability and transformed this idyllic Riviera holiday spot into a thriving international financial, business, cultural and sports center and premier luxury tourist destination. Tourism in all its permutations, from day tripping to convention event, became the backbone of the econ
omy.Prince Rainier’s fairy tale marriage to Hollywood movie star Grace Kelly was the icing on the cake of Monaco's glamorous image. On September 14, 1982, Princess Grace died as a result of a car accident...what a tragic accident!
With the invaluable contribution of His beloved Princess Grace, Monaco became an international center for cultural and sporting events. Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Little Singers of Monaco, the Prince Pierre Foundation, the Princess Grace Foundation, the International Circus Festival, Spring Arts Festival, the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Tennis Open are just some of the many initiatives that grew and prospered under Prince Rainier's leadership. Prince Rainier, known as “The Builder Prince”, passed away on April 6, 2005 in Monaco at the age of 81. The official ceremonies marking the enthronement of Prince Albert II took place in Monaco on July 12, 2005.
....Monte Carlo is the definition of High Society. Everything lives up to it's reputation here....
However, Monaco was one of the nicest places we have visited. There were no trash, no animal waste, no graffiti, not even clothes hanging out to dry. I know that it is the 2nd smallest country (Vatican City being the smallest) and that there are 30,000 inhabitants. There is no unemployment. There is one policeman for every sixty people. There is little to no crime, but there are cameras everywhere and nothing happens without someone else knowing…wow! so,...what we did there should be known by Prince Albert(?)
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And the weather in winter time? Mhm… was really nice, it’s warm, we must get rid of our winter dress code.
The city is very scenic, it’s different from most of european city we have visited. The entire city is located in a crescent shape going up the side of the mountain. The streets are practically almost on top of each othe r.....what a unique city...!
The main city landmark is the casino. There is a dress code for people who want to enter it. I thought maybe like Bond, James Bond with his tuxedo(?). We walked around the garden near Casino and like most of the people that day, we just took picture. Again we saw so many luxury cars park in front of the casino. Maybe also because Monaco is known for the world even Formula 1(?).
The Monaco Grand Prix , I think the neatest thing about the event is that the Formula One cars actual race through the City of Monaco. I mean, I’ve seen car races through cities in video games, but I could not imagine a live car race in a city as opposed to a racetrack. I guess, the local atmosphere factor is what makes the Grand Prix just that amazing.
After drove through the street that The Monaco Grand Prix drive on, we reached the public beach. Our children played there. Like Nice, the beach is nice and also very clean. The water was some of the most beautiful water I had seen. Viewing in a distance manner, the water is some of the shinest blue (the reason for calling the Nice region the Coté de Azur). Up close, the water becomes crystal clear…and I mean clear.
Then we headed to Grimaldi Palace. We walked up into Monaco Ville and round the palace, cathedral and garden. From the garden we could enjoy sea view. The palace in comparison to many of the castles and palaces I have seen over the last few months, seemed quite small and more like a government house than anything else but I found great views over the whole Principality. We could see from there Monte Carlo Harbor filled by white Yachts and Sailboats and the buildings round that harbor. The scenery was more beautiful in the evening. After dark we went back to Nice.
No trip to Monaco would be completed without exploring Nice Cote d Azur and Cannes, The City of Film Festival. We spent the rest days in those two cities
