My Visual Travel Experience: Monaco

My childhood memories of Monaco take me back to 1989, when I was there for a couple of days with my parents and sister. I had never seen so many luxury cars anywhere else before, despite living in the prosperous city of Vienna. Wherever I looked, I saw a Ferrari or a Porsche or a Lamborghini, and I was completely in awe. In 2011, my fiance (now my wife) and I spent close to a week in the French Riviera, and that included 3 days in Monaco. We both enjoyed our visit tremendously, and the ever present luxury cars were just a small part of the excitement this time!

The principality of Monaco is tucked away in the French Riviera and lies along the Mediterranean Sea. Monaco is one of the smallest nations in the world, with a population of just over 35,000, and an area of 2 square km!. It has the highest per capita income in the world, at about USD 170,000 per person per annum! Monaco is divided into ten wards. Historically, there were four quarters, and going from west to east, these are Fontvieille, Monaco Ville, La Condamine and Monte Carlo. French is the national language of Monaco, but Italian is widely spoken. 

A view of Monaco from the Palais Princier

Monaco is a principality with a constitutional monarchy. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, when Francisco Grimaldi captured the Rock of Monaco, a 62 meter tall monolith overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Feuds between the Grimaldi Family and the Genoese went on for years after that. In 1419, the Grimaldi Family purchased Monaco from the Crown of Aragon and became the official rulers. In 1612, Honore II started calling himself Prince of Monaco, a trend that was to continue subsequently. The princes of Monaco were sovereign princes, but were affiliated to the French kings, and were under their protection from the Spanish. In 1793, after the French Revolution, French Revolutionary forces took over Monaco. In 1814, the Grimaldi Family returned to power. Monaco then became a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1860, the Sardinian forces pulled out and Monaco again became a French protectorate. 

In 1869, the principality stopped collecting taxes, because there was a lot of money coming in from the hugely successful casino. Prince Albert came to power in 1889, after the death of his father, Prince Charles III. Prince Louis II came to the throne in 1922. During World War II, Monaco was briefly occupied by the Italians, and then by the Germans. In 1949, Prince Rainier III came to power after the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II. In 1956, Prince Rainier III married the popular Hollywood actress Grace Kelly, and the principality came to the limelight with the event's tremendous media attention. Princess Grace Kelly died in 1982 after a car accident. In 2005, Prince Rainier III abdicated in favour of his son Prince Albert II, and died a few days later.

View of the Rock of Monaco from Jardin Exotique

Monte Carlo Casino includes a casino and the Grand Theatre. The government and the ruling royal family have a stake in the casino. The idea of opening a casino was floated by Princess Caroline, wife of Prince Florestan, in the 1840's. The casino came up in its present location in 1863. The casino has an opulent, baroque interior, and has been a source of great income to the royal family.

Monte Carlo Casino

The Palais Princier is the official residence of the Prince of Monaco. It was built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress. The Grimaldi Family captured it in 1297. Due to lack of an alternative space in the tiny principality, the palace has remained the official residence of the Prince of Monaco till date, though it has undergone expansion and evolution over the centuries. A part of the palace is now a museum and tourist attraction.

Palais Princier

Monument to Prince Albert
(made to commemorate 25 years in power), Palais Princier

Monaco Cathedral was consecrated in 1911. It was built on the site of Monaco's first parish church, which was built in 1252. Many members of the Grimaldi Family are buried in this church, including Prince Charles III, Prince Albert I, Prince Louis II, Princess Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III.

Monaco Cathedral

Nave, Monaco Cathedral

High Altar, Monaco Cathedral

Dome Ceiling, Monaco Cathedral

Tomb of Grace Kelly, Monaco Cathedral

Chapelle da la Visitation is a chapel and art museum. The baroque chapel was built in the 17th century.

Rubens' St Peter, Chapelle de la Visitation

Eglise du Sacre Coeur is a church that was completed in 1929. It was built as a Jesuit church and then became a Parish church.

Eglise du Sacre Coeur

High Altar, Eglise du Sacre Coeur

Chapelle de la Misericordia is another one of Monaco's well known churches.

Chapelle de la Misericordia

Musee Oceanographique is a museum of marine sciences. The museum was inaugurated in 1910 by Prince Albert I. The building is a an impressive piece of baroque architecture. The exhibits include various species of marine life (starfish, seahorses, jellyfish, turtles, sharks etc), models of ships, and a whale skeleton. The museum also houses an aquarium.

Musee Oceanographique

Conference Hall, Musee Oceanographique

Whale Skeleton, Musee Oceanographique

Scorpion Fish at the Aquarium, Musee Oceanographique

Jardin Exotique is a cliff-side botanical garden, famous for its collection of beautiful cactus plants. The garden opened in 1933. During the construction, a grotto was found at the site in 1916.

Cactus Plants, Jardin Exotique

Cactus with Flowers, Jardin Exotique

Exposition de Voitures Anciennes is a vintage car museum, which has the personal collection of cars owned by Prince Ranier III. The collection has over 100 classic cars.

Rolls Royce from 1927, Exposition de Voitures Anciennes

Cadillac from 1953,
Exposition de Voitures Anciennes

Mercedes from 1965, 
Exposition de Voitures Anciennes

Monaco has a Zoological Garden that was set up by Prince Rainier III in 1954. The zoo is spread across four levels on the Rock of Monaco, which also has the Palais Princier, the Cathedral and the Musee Oceanographique. The zoo has some 50 species of animals. They were either donated or abandoned or from circuses.

Hippo, Zoological Garden

Meercat, Zoological Garden

My fiance and I had a very interesting incident while we were in Monaco. We were staying in a hotel that was up on a hill, towards the outer areas of the principality. To get to the main tourist attractions, we were taking a bus that went on a circuitous route and took 15 minutes to get to the bottom of the hill. On our last day, we discovered that to go to the bottom of the hill, all we had to do was to take a lift down the hill and within 2 minutes, we'd be right at the base of the hill. If we had known this earlier, life would have been a lot simpler and we would have saved a lot of time and effort!