We decided to get an early start as we only had half a day to see all of Monaco. Our accommodation was literally 200m outside of Monaco, so technically last night we had stayed in France. This was not by accident, accommodation in Monaco was crazy expensive and almost impossible to find for just one night.
Our view from outside the apartment was fantastic and we were excited as we made our way down the steep steps to the bottom of the hill. It was a strange walk, as we felt we were making our way through local’s backyards, but it was kind of cool to see the houses and a few early risers were quite friendly so it wasn’t too awkward.
Half way down the hill we had a laugh as Keith was able to stand with a foot in two different countries, France and Monaco.
For such a small country Monaco is quite populated with both large high rises, dense commercial property as well as a number of high end boutiques and stores. However, despite this, Monaco doesn’t feel like a concrete jungle, the buildings are amazing and a lot of effort has been placed on creating beautiful modern architecture as well as accompanying gardens.
Our first stop was the Princes Palace, the view on the way was breathtaking as we overlooked the Harbour. The Palace itself was not overwhelming, however its gardens, views and sculptures as a package were amazing.
Directly behind the Palace were cobbled laneways with all sorts of shops and markets and definitely designed to accommodate the huge numbers of tourists that flock to see the Palace. Being so early we were lucky to get a great look around before the crowds.
Our next stop was the famous Monaco Cathedral (St Nicholas), where Prince Rainier married Grace Kelly. It was a gorgeous church the artwork was spectacular and it just had an air of something special.
As we made our way down the mountain it became clear that to see all of the city was going to be impossible in one day. Built mostly on the side of a mountain there are lots of hills, so we made the decision that to see more of Monte Carlo we would pay the ridiculous cost for the hop on hop off bus. It turned out to be the best thing we could have done, as we completed the entire loop in an hour and then utilised the bus to jump off at the major sites we wanted to see.
On the bus we saw evidence of the track for the Grand Prix, the Harbour, sporting arenas, beaches, Monaco Oceanographic Museum, the Opera House, Casino and much more.
We jumped off to have a look around Casino Square which holds not just the Casino, but the Opera House and the Hotel de Paris. An amazing site it’s featured in many movies including James Bond Casino Royale.
Today was our 13th wedding anniversary so we decided to treat ourselves to a coffee and cake at the famous Cafe de Paris in Casino Square. As Keith is the cake connoisseur in this marriage I left the choice to him. Keith chose the very special French Baba au Rhum (which was a bit like a massive donut soaked in rum with whipped cream and fresh fruit), it was amazing. We knew our experience was going to be costly, Monte Carlo is incredibly expensive but could not believe our two coffees and cake cost 27 Euro or $38 AUD! Wowsers!
Bec really wanted to see the changing of the guard back at the Palace, which only occurs once per day, so we made our way back. It definitely wasn’t quiet anymore! We made a spot for ourselves in the crowd and watched what could only be described as a very well rehearsed performance.
What a spectacular day, we really loved Monaco it was so opulent but still managed to be welcoming to a humble traveller. Another good decision was skipping the long up hill walk back to the accommodation. We jumped in a taxi and paid 20 Euro to go 10 minutes but it was seriously worth it. After a quick shower, we packed our stuff back into the car and waved goodbye to Monaco.
Our destination today was Cannes via Nice along the Cote d’Azur and no words can describe the drive and views we experienced. In fact, we found ourselves doing many u-turns to go back and see some views twice! It was spectacular!
So all those u-turns and gazing into the horizon did come at a cost. We had no time to spare and literally drove through Nice, only taking the time to take a couple of pictures from the car.
We arrived in Cannes and decided to find a parking station and explore immediately, it had been a perfect day, the weather was gorgeous and the beach was still packed.
There were markets and lots of little shops, we enjoyed walking around taking it all in and eventually stopped for some dinner before heading back to the hotel.
A super huge day we got back to the hotel feeling exhausted but still in awe of Monte Carlo and the incredible Cote d’Azur, definitely on the return list that’s for sure.
Cool Stuff We Did 