Our visit to Monaco wasn't out of necessity, but more so curiosity.
Noted as the second smallest country in the world with one of the ritziest casinos and dozens of wealthy celebrity home owners, what isn't there to be curious about?!
Getting to Monaco was half the battle. By this time in my travels, I have mastered the art of public transportation around Europe. No route seems daunting, no metro too scary. But the train station in Nice threw me for a loop.
To make a long story short, buying train tickets wasn't as seamless as I imagined/read it to be (it is SUPER EASY in Paris), and the platforms in Nice are completely disorganized.
We had never seen anything like it before!
After waiting in line for 30 minutes to buy tickets from machines that do not offer English as an option, figuring out our platform (which wasn't easy considering it's never been hard elsewhere), and a quick 20 minute train ride, we were in Monaco! Whew.
We didn't have a whole lot in mind to see. Monaco isn't the size of most other cities, and believe it or not, it seemed as if the number one thing to in this tiny country was to live; a good majority of the people wandering around were locals.
Monaco has only a few things of interest to the 'average' tourist. I didn't visit to go shopping at Hermes, Prada, etc,. Nor did I care to wine and dine in a fancy restaurant or gamble in the famed casino. Instead, we found a quick lunch at McDonald's (the most expensive, and shittiest McDonald's I have ever stepped foot in), and then decided to up hill hike the long pedestrian road to the Palace of Monaco.
The palace was 'meh', but the views of the city (or...um...country?) from either side of the front facade were spectacular.
It didn't take long before we grew bored of the area and began to wander through a shopping area towards the Oceanographic Museum, also located on the hilltop.
The museum was the most expensive mainland attraction we paid for in our French Riviera travels. I assumed one price, but apparently I didn't read the correct price list.
Each month of the year has its own admission fees. I noted the fees for the month of May when I was travel planning. Turns out July (while we were there) and August boast the highest admission rates and family discounts do NOT apply. Total: €68
My math was off by €26 Euro. Oops!
The basement aquarium bits of the museum had loads of traffic, but regardless, I did enjoy looking at the sea creatures. For myself, there weren't many 'wow' moments about the tanks of sea life in this place, except the star fish: I had never seen such a vibrant red/white colored large star fish, nor teensy-tiny starfish the size of Lucky Charms. That's actually what they looked like; leprechaun themed cereal pieces stuck inside of the tank. Maybe that's what they really were?
The Oceanographic Museum is a 3 in 1 experience, which I *kind of* didn't see coming.
We spent about an hour ogling at small and massive fish tanks before heading to the ground floor to explore the actual museum side of the place.
The museum was the brain child of Prince Albert I; a sailor, explorer, and scientist. Oh, yeah, his name may also give away that he was a prince, too. He is who commissioned the building. Basically, he wanted a place to showcase and store his finds.
Is he also the namesake of a interesting piercing that some dudes have? I can't say for sure, but I doubt it.
Anyway, the ground floor of the museum has many of Prince Albert's findings, lab materials, equipment, and tools. It's set up exactly how I would imagine a rich, old man's trophy room would be. There are artifacts and chandeliers. Lab equipment and beautiful paneled walls. It was almost like being inside of a mad scientist's palace.
Prince Albert wasn't crazy, though. But the random 'things' that were once alive and are now sealed in formaldehyde jars or tubs which are displayed throughout the exhibition can give that impression...
Note: Have you have ever heard of the famous sea explorer Jacques Cousteau? He was the director of this museum for thirty-one years!
We eventually found our way to the roof. I guess a lot of folks skip this area, but it was included in the ticket, and I wanted my full money's worth! It was but a short elevator ride to the top and the views of the city below could not be matched.
I had one major thing to see on my list after visiting the Oceanographic Museum, and I believe the trip to Monaco wouldn't have been complete without it: The world famous Monte-Carlo Casino.
Making our way down the hill, past a few picturesque squares and Monaco's yacht littered marina, we found our way to the Monte Carlo Casino.
With zero desire to go inside, we snapped a few pictures of the general area. I didn't find it to appear as fancy as I thought it would be. Sure, I had seen photos of the exterior, watched James Bond and all of that jazz, but I've been to Vegas, y'all.
Although some are corny, the majority of casinos in Las Vegas possess more glamour than this one. Hell, even Casino Arizona in my home state seems more fabulous.
I honestly think this is just a place to see or be seen. The lavish sports cars parked out front told me so!
I do believe that seeing the casino at night could have gave a different impression.
Sure, we could have paid a visit to some other attractions, but we were kind of ready to get back to Nice at this point in our day. It was pretty darn warm and the sea was calling. We walked back to the one and only train station in Monaco to catch our ride. It was then that I noticed that the walls inside of the station were made of marble. It was kind of strange yet expected, but a fun little last minute discovery in the second smallest country of the world.
Interesting Facts about Monaco:
Monaco was interesting, but I wasn't super impressed. Sure, the towering apartment buildings and architecture were neato, but it gave off a small town impression. In other words, if you aren't a local or super rich, there's not much for you in this place.
I was excited to see tons of luxury cars parked along streets, but we didn't. Most of the vehicles buzzing about were basic European makes: Skoda, Peugeot, Renault, etc,.
Yawn.
We saw a small handful of luxury rides (we counted five the entire day), but definitely not as many as some folks blog/talk about.
Monaco made a nice day out and the train ride, though short, was the most scenic we've seen in Europe thus far.
Am I in a hurry to return to this place? Nope.
But I am glad we paid a visit to the world's second smallest country.
Next post: An Island Excursion in France: Île Sainte-Marguerite
*I've been dealing with life's little challenges. Kids starting school, applying for a new job, organizing personal files, breathing, etc,. It's been over a month since we've returned from our summer adventures! The next post is the last of them all (finally, right?), and happens to be my favorite day of our entire summer vacation!
After that post, I will work on the conclusion of my "Realistic Vacation" series. It's coming. Promise.
Noted as the second smallest country in the world with one of the ritziest casinos and dozens of wealthy celebrity home owners, what isn't there to be curious about?!
Getting to Monaco was half the battle. By this time in my travels, I have mastered the art of public transportation around Europe. No route seems daunting, no metro too scary. But the train station in Nice threw me for a loop.
To make a long story short, buying train tickets wasn't as seamless as I imagined/read it to be (it is SUPER EASY in Paris), and the platforms in Nice are completely disorganized.
We had never seen anything like it before!
After waiting in line for 30 minutes to buy tickets from machines that do not offer English as an option, figuring out our platform (which wasn't easy considering it's never been hard elsewhere), and a quick 20 minute train ride, we were in Monaco! Whew.
We didn't have a whole lot in mind to see. Monaco isn't the size of most other cities, and believe it or not, it seemed as if the number one thing to in this tiny country was to live; a good majority of the people wandering around were locals.
Monaco has only a few things of interest to the 'average' tourist. I didn't visit to go shopping at Hermes, Prada, etc,. Nor did I care to wine and dine in a fancy restaurant or gamble in the famed casino. Instead, we found a quick lunch at McDonald's (the most expensive, and shittiest McDonald's I have ever stepped foot in), and then decided to up hill hike the long pedestrian road to the Palace of Monaco.
The palace was 'meh', but the views of the city (or...um...country?) from either side of the front facade were spectacular.
 |
| The Palace has a Disney vibe; almost as if it were built for novelty. |
It didn't take long before we grew bored of the area and began to wander through a shopping area towards the Oceanographic Museum, also located on the hilltop.
 |
| Saint Nicholas Cathedral of Monaco |
 |
| Entrance to the Oceanographic Museum |
The museum was the most expensive mainland attraction we paid for in our French Riviera travels. I assumed one price, but apparently I didn't read the correct price list.
Each month of the year has its own admission fees. I noted the fees for the month of May when I was travel planning. Turns out July (while we were there) and August boast the highest admission rates and family discounts do NOT apply. Total: €68
My math was off by €26 Euro. Oops!
The basement aquarium bits of the museum had loads of traffic, but regardless, I did enjoy looking at the sea creatures. For myself, there weren't many 'wow' moments about the tanks of sea life in this place, except the star fish: I had never seen such a vibrant red/white colored large star fish, nor teensy-tiny starfish the size of Lucky Charms. That's actually what they looked like; leprechaun themed cereal pieces stuck inside of the tank. Maybe that's what they really were?
The Oceanographic Museum is a 3 in 1 experience, which I *kind of* didn't see coming.
We spent about an hour ogling at small and massive fish tanks before heading to the ground floor to explore the actual museum side of the place.
The museum was the brain child of Prince Albert I; a sailor, explorer, and scientist. Oh, yeah, his name may also give away that he was a prince, too. He is who commissioned the building. Basically, he wanted a place to showcase and store his finds.
Is he also the namesake of a interesting piercing that some dudes have? I can't say for sure, but I doubt it.
Anyway, the ground floor of the museum has many of Prince Albert's findings, lab materials, equipment, and tools. It's set up exactly how I would imagine a rich, old man's trophy room would be. There are artifacts and chandeliers. Lab equipment and beautiful paneled walls. It was almost like being inside of a mad scientist's palace.
Prince Albert wasn't crazy, though. But the random 'things' that were once alive and are now sealed in formaldehyde jars or tubs which are displayed throughout the exhibition can give that impression...
Note: Have you have ever heard of the famous sea explorer Jacques Cousteau? He was the director of this museum for thirty-one years!
We eventually found our way to the roof. I guess a lot of folks skip this area, but it was included in the ticket, and I wanted my full money's worth! It was but a short elevator ride to the top and the views of the city below could not be matched.
I had one major thing to see on my list after visiting the Oceanographic Museum, and I believe the trip to Monaco wouldn't have been complete without it: The world famous Monte-Carlo Casino.
Making our way down the hill, past a few picturesque squares and Monaco's yacht littered marina, we found our way to the Monte Carlo Casino.
 |
| Oddly, the hike up the pedestrian road to the hilltop was through medieval walls, but nothing else about this place looked super old. |
With zero desire to go inside, we snapped a few pictures of the general area. I didn't find it to appear as fancy as I thought it would be. Sure, I had seen photos of the exterior, watched James Bond and all of that jazz, but I've been to Vegas, y'all.
Although some are corny, the majority of casinos in Las Vegas possess more glamour than this one. Hell, even Casino Arizona in my home state seems more fabulous.
I honestly think this is just a place to see or be seen. The lavish sports cars parked out front told me so!
I do believe that seeing the casino at night could have gave a different impression.
 |
| That weird silver plate was an eyesore. Made it hard to get a full size photo of the casino's front facade. |
 |
| In front of Hotel de Paris |
 |
| Detail of Hotel de Paris. I believe this is the same window Emma and Meg creep out of in the dorky movie 'Monte Carlo'. |
Sure, we could have paid a visit to some other attractions, but we were kind of ready to get back to Nice at this point in our day. It was pretty darn warm and the sea was calling. We walked back to the one and only train station in Monaco to catch our ride. It was then that I noticed that the walls inside of the station were made of marble. It was kind of strange yet expected, but a fun little last minute discovery in the second smallest country of the world.
 |
| Sainte Devote Chapel |
Interesting Facts about Monaco:
- The capital city of Monaco is actually Monaco (Ville). Monte Carlo is one of the four regions of Monaco. In our visit, we spent more time in Monaco-Ville than Monte-Carlo!
- Monaco is not a part of the EU {European Union}, but does use Euro as currency because of it's ties to France. This was a first for us. Believe it or not, we've visited the opposite before. Just because a country IS part of the EU does not automatically mean that they do use Euro. Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland are examples of EU countries that do not use Euro as currency. Weird, huh?
- Monaco does not collect taxes from its citizens. This is also a large reason as to why many celebrities flock here to buy homes.
- Citizens of Monaco are prohibited to gamble or even visit the inside of the famed Monte Carlo Casino.
- Monaco is still ruled by royalty. The House of Grimaldi has been on the throne since the 1200's! Cray cray. Well, it's crazy considering even in the United Kingdom, the throne hasn't always been passed down within the same family name (often is was handed to someone in the family, but by distant blood: Think Queen Elizabeth I (surname Tudor) and her successor being her Scottish cousin Mary's son; James VI (Once on the throne he was dubbed King James I, with surname of his Scottish monarchy heritage/family: Stewart (or Stuart).
- Speaking of royalty in Monaco... Should a Grimaldi blood heir cease to exist in the future, Monaco will be become a part of France. It won't be handed to a distant relative. Oh, and by the way, Monaco is NOT considered a kingdom (like the United Kingdom) but rather a Principality, thus there cannot be a king or queen. The highest heir formally goes by Prince, Princess, or basically "Your highness".
Monaco was interesting, but I wasn't super impressed. Sure, the towering apartment buildings and architecture were neato, but it gave off a small town impression. In other words, if you aren't a local or super rich, there's not much for you in this place.
I was excited to see tons of luxury cars parked along streets, but we didn't. Most of the vehicles buzzing about were basic European makes: Skoda, Peugeot, Renault, etc,.
Yawn.
We saw a small handful of luxury rides (we counted five the entire day), but definitely not as many as some folks blog/talk about.
Monaco made a nice day out and the train ride, though short, was the most scenic we've seen in Europe thus far.
Am I in a hurry to return to this place? Nope.
But I am glad we paid a visit to the world's second smallest country.
Next post: An Island Excursion in France: Île Sainte-Marguerite
*I've been dealing with life's little challenges. Kids starting school, applying for a new job, organizing personal files, breathing, etc,. It's been over a month since we've returned from our summer adventures! The next post is the last of them all (finally, right?), and happens to be my favorite day of our entire summer vacation!
After that post, I will work on the conclusion of my "Realistic Vacation" series. It's coming. Promise.
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