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Monaco
The little Principality of Monaco is a sovereign state, situated on the Côte d’Azur between Cap d’Ail and Menton, and only a few kilometres from the Italian Riviera. Provacances offers holiday houses in Nice (22 km) and Menton (10 km) as well as in the medieval villages of Eze (11 km) and Peillon (32 km). The Principality of Monaco has lots of attractions, arts and culture, historical sightseeing, exquisite dinners, sumptuous hotels, luxury shopping, non-stop nightlife and excitement in the legendary Monte Carlo. This and much more can be experienced if you visit the mini-state on the French Riviera, but with one basic condition: you must not have liquidity problems; this place is for luxury tourists.
Read more about MonacoWith a size of 2 km², Monaco is the smallest country in the world. Monaco is called the Mediterranean Manhattan because of its skyscrapers and luxury villas. Monaco is a constitutional monarchy and the Grimaldi family, with Prince Albert as the actual head of state, have reined since 1297. Monaco consists of three parts: The old city Monaco-Ville with the Palace, situated at the top of a rocky peninsula, Monte-Carlo with its very famous Casino and the residential quarter La Condamine, with its big marina.
The Palace, Palais des Princes, is beautifully situated at the top of the cliff. The views are outstanding, at one side is the new port, Port de Fontvielle, and at the other the suburb Fontvielle, with its industrial park and the big stadium, home of the football club AS Monaco FC. The Palace dates back to the 16th -17th centuries, but the towers are from the occupation of Genoa in 1215. In the summer, when the Prince is not at the Palace, you can visit the throne hall and the representation rooms. The changing of the guard takes place every day at 11.55-12.00 a.m.
From the Palace square it is pleasant to take a walk in the old city, Monaco-Ville, which is extremely interesting with its narrow winding streets, its restaurants, cafés and shops, mostly souvenir shops, though. Here, you will find the old majestic cathedral from 1884 in Neo-Roman style with Byzantine ornaments. Of special interest is the Grimaldi’s burial chamber where princes and princesses are buried, including the late Prince Rainier’s wife, the former American actress, Grace Kelly, who died so tragically in a car accident in 1982.
The big marina, Port de Monaco, is very spectacular especially at nighttimes when it is beautifully illuminated – the big cruisers and the sumptuous yachts lie side by side as floating palaces.
One of the biggest attractions in Monaco is the Musée Océanographique, one of Europe’s best aquariums. The bottom floor has 4.500 fish from the oceans (450 different species) in 90 aquariums, each made in accordance with the fish’s natural milieu. From the museum’s rooftop terrace you can admire the view of the Italian Riviera to one side and the French to the other.
In the heart of Monte-Carlo there are some majestic buildings including the big Casino, Hôtel de Paris and Hôtel Hermitage. Here, you will also find the famous Café de Paris, where you can enjoy a cup of coffee while looking at people and life at Place Casino. If you want to soak up the atmosphere it is best to arrive in the evening when the really rich flock and the big limousines are lined up in front of the Casino.
An important event is of course the big Formel 1 Grand Prix-race, where Monaco’s centre is transformed into a race track with public enclosures at the sides of the streets. This event takes place just after the film festival in Cannes, at the end of May.
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The Riviera’s third largest town. The old town in Antibes is highly interesting with its covered market, beautiful marina, Picasso museum and Marineland, with dolphins and killer whales.
A very popular, medieval village in the department of Alpes Maritimes, best known for its glassware. Here one can also find a very interesting Fernand Léger-museum.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, situated between Nice and Antibes, first of all offers a magnificent, fortified old quarter, Haut-de-Cagnes, perched high up on top of a small rock. The town is intersected by steep, winding streets and stairways and a multitude of small, idyllic squares. At the top of the town you will find the ancient Grimaldi castle from the 14th century.
The most fashionable town on the French Riviera with its long elegant promenade La Croisette and the luxurious Hotel Carlton. Lying across from Cannes is Iles de Lérins, two charming flower filled little islands, Ste-Marguerite and St-Honoret. Ste-Marguerite, the island closest to the mainland is almost covered in pine forest. It is particularly renowned because of ”the man with the iron mask” who was imprisoned here and whose identity is still unknown. At St-Honoret there is a beautiful old monastery, dating from the 11th century. In earlier times, St-Honoret was a religious centre for southern Europe and the monastery owned most of the land along the Mediterranean including Cannes. The island is still inhabited by monks. A museum and a church can be visited by the public.
Has almost grown together with the neighbouring town St-Raphaël. In Fréjus one can find a characteristic French promenade with nice, little cafés and a multitude of restaurants, bars and discos, seething with life every night. The marina is the normal meeting point in the evenings, and here there is a really good atmosphere. In Fréjus there are quite a few Roman monuments, among other things a small arena which is still used for concerts and bullfights. One can also find a big amusement park with a Marineland.
Golfe Juan, situated between Cannes and Antibes, offers one of the very best beaches on the French Riviera, an impressive marina, restaurants, cafés and boutiques. It was also here Napoleon landed in 1815, when escaping from Elba. In Golfe Juan there is a 5 hectares public park, Exflora Park, showing different Mediterranean gardens exactly as they were in Roman Times and in the sumptuous 19th century.
Situated between Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var. The breathtaking canyon, Gorges du Verdon, is one of Europe’s greatest nature wonders - an outstanding nature experience that one must experience. At the Verdon river, which is cutting 700 metres down into the cliff, one can go hiking, climbing, canoeing and rafting.
The French centre for perfumes, producing perfume extracts and essences. Grasse is beautifully situated at 333 metres altitude, in the hinterland of Cannes. The old city is very exciting with a labyrinth of streets and narrow passages. Here, there is a multitude of small, interesting boutiques.
A popular beach resort beside Antibes. Juan-les-Pins is a town for young people with its many boutiques, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and a casino.
Le Cannet is perched high up above Cannes, and enjoys, for this reason, a fantastic panorama of the bay of Cannes and the island group, Îles de Lérins. Le Cannet is especially well known for its artists’ quarter which is dominated by art craft workshops and galleries. It is an extremely nice and picturesque old town with skilfully restored houses, narrow, steep streets with numerous small, homely restaurants and cafés.
Mandelieu-la-Napoule is a beach resort between Cannes and Fréjus. It has good beaches, a nice marina, lots of restaurants and cafés and a huge variety of water sports.
The Principality of Monaco (pop.: 31,842) is a sovereign state lying out to the Mediterranean and surrounded by the French Alpes Maritimes department. Its geographical extent of 2 km² makes Monaco the world’s smallest country. Monaco is nicknamed The Mediterranean Manhattan as it is packed with sky scrapers and sumptuous villas. It is a constitutional monarchy and Prince Albert’s family, the Grimaldies, have reigned in Monaco since 1297. Monaco consists of three towns: The old town, Monaco-Ville, with the Royal Palace on top of a cliff, Monte-Carlo with its very famous Casino and the residential area la Condamine, with its big marina.
A fantastic, medieval mountain village beautifully situated. Here one can also find one of the most famous restaurants in France, Moulin de Mougins.
The main city in the department of Alpes Maritimes, France’s fifth biggest city and the most important city on the Riviera. Famous for its beautiful location by the Baie des Anges, surrounded by mountains, Nice first of all offers a very interesting old city, the magnificent promenade, Promenade des Anglais, the museum of modern art and Chagall and Matisse museums.
The artists’ town, St-Paul-de-Vence, is one of the prettiest and most picturesque villages in the region. Here one can find Auberge Colombe d’Or, one of southern France’s most famous restaurants.
This town has almost grown together with the neighbouring town, Fréjus. Since the middle of the 19th century St-Raphaël has been a popular holiday resort with nice, sandy beaches, marina and good shopping facilities. It was at this place Napoleon landed on his way back from Egypt in 1799, and so did the French- American troupes in 1944. One of the greatest sights in the town is a Templar’s church, dating back to the 12th century.
Originally St-Tropez was a small, humble, fishing village, until Brigitte Bardot, Françoise Sagan and other celebrities discovered the town in the 1950’s and pulled in the whole jet set. In high season (August), around 80,000 tourists arrive at this extraordinary holiday resort. Despite this “big circus” in the summer, the town is definitely worth a visit.
A most charming medieval village, situated between Cannes and Nice, only 14 km from the coast. It is renowned for its culture of violets. Tourrettes-sur-Loup is very much worth a visit.
A nice medieval village in the hinterland of Cannes. The town is enclosed by fortified houses and the streets are laid out in symmetric rectangles, a phenomenon not often seen in this region.
Vallauris has been a city with pottery traditions ever since Roman Times., traditions which were later carried on by Italian potters from Grasse. Picasso has also worked in a pottery in this town. Today the town houses an exciting Picasso museum: http://www.musee-picasso-vallauris.fr/
Vence, like St-Paul-de-Vence, is one of the really big pearls in the hinterland of Nice and Cannes and has also one of the most beautiful locations. The town’s greatest tourist attraction is the Chapelle du Rosaire, better known as the Matisse chapel.
Activities in Monaco
- The Casino: There is no obligation to play. But there is a dress code. For men, tie and jacket, for women, no shorts and t-shirts.
- Discotheques, pubs, and nightclubs.
- Opera.
- Ballet.
- Theatre.
- All sorts of water sports
- Public swimming pool.
- Tennis
- Squash
- Archery
- Hang gliding.
- Parasailing.
- Walking and hiking tours.
- Bicycle, motorcycle, boat, limousine, yacht..rentals.
- Golf –There are lots of golf courses in the department of Alpes Maritimes. Most of the courses can be found on the French golf union’s website. Unfortunately the website is in French. Seek under Guide de golfs and then under the region Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur: http://www.ffgolf.org/#
- Ski resorts within easy travelling distance: http://www.skifrance.fr/default-a.htm
Sights in Monaco
- Grottes de l’Observatoire: Grottos, which were already lived in, in the Neolithic age. The grottos look like an underground fantasy castle with stalagmites and stalactites, ice blue lakes and naturally created sculptures.
- The Formel 1 Grand Prix-race at the end of May: http://www.formula1.com/
- Musée du Vieux Monaco: Museum of local history.
- Musée d’Antropologie Préhistorique.
- Casino Monaco: http://www.casinomontecarlo.com/fr/
- Jardin Exotique: Botanical garden, situated beneath the Moyenne Corniche. Monaco’s mild climate makes it possible to grow plants, which normally only grow in southern California and Madagascar. There are 600 different species of cactus: http://www.jardin-exotique.mc/
- Musée des Souvenirs Napoléoniens et Collections des Archives Historiques du Palais.
- Musée Océanographique: One of Europe’s best aquariums: http://www.oceano.mc/
- Le Cathédrale de Monaco: With the Grimaldis’ burial chamber.
- Monaco-Ville: The old city.
- Palais des Princes and the daily changing of the guard, at 11.55-12.00 a.m. http://www.palais.mc/wwwpal.nsf/Index.htm?OpenPage&charset=iso-8859-1
- Port de Monaco: The big marina.
- Le Jardin Japonais: The Japanese garden, 7000 m².
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