Every year the eyes of the world turn to Monaco for the Formula 1 Grand Prix when the fast cars race through the narrow streets of the city and pass along the Casino as well as the Port Hercule. But Monaco as one of those microstates in Europe, fully surrounded by France, is always worth a visit. It is reigned by prince Albert II, became independent from France in 1489, has 40,000 inhabitants (thereof 8,000 citizens) and can be considered one of the safest places in the world with one policeman and -woman per inhabitant.
Monaco is a constitutional monarchy using the Euro as its currency and since 1889 it has no military. After the Vatican state it is the second-smallest country in the world. People living at Monaco don’t pay taxes and therefore the country attracts many wealth people who are showing their luxurious lifestyle very openly. While the casino was in the past financing the country it is now mostly tourism.
If you want to explore the city you don’t need more than a day and there is a classic round course starting at the railway station: from there you can walk to the famous casino surrounded by a nice garden, hike down to Port Hercule and climb up again through the ancient city gate to Le Rocher, the rock on which the old town is located. That is the beautiful part with the palace and the cathedral in which Grace Kelly is buried.
Next to that you’ll find the beautiful Jardins Saint-Martin with nice views on the sea and a little bit further on you can discover the amazing Musée océanographique. If you’ve got time left after strolling through the streets of the old town you walk down again and climb the next hill hosting the Jardin Exotique and the New National Museum of Monaco. Try to find the hidden elevators in hospitals and multi-storey car parks to avoid some of the many stairs.
Getting to Monaco is really easy, also for those of us that down own private jets or fly by helicopter: the trains running along the Côte d’Azur from Cannes via Antibes and Nice have a stop at the Monaco Monte-Carlo underground railway station.
Monaco
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