I awoke fairly early this morning (not that I’ve been sleeping right through anyway) in anticipation of my day trip to Monaco. I headed out at about 9:15 in the direction of the Gare Routiere (bus terminal) about a 15 min walk away. When there I hopped instantly on a 100 bus (1 euro) headed out to Menton through Monaco & settled in for the ride. And the ride was incredibly beautiful, weaving along the coastline all the way to Monaco. I recognised some of the winding streets from movies I’d seen in the past.
When I arrived in Monaco, I departed at the Place d’Armes bus stop & walked the stairs up to the palace - quite a long way up. The views along the way were spectacular with sweeping sights over Monte Carlo. I walked through the cathedral which was in the same area as the palace & which is where Princess Grace & Prince Albert are buried. You can sense the honour & sacredness the locals have for this church.
At 11:55 the changing of the guards takes place at the palace, all pomp & ceremony with about 30 guards taking place all up. The entire event took about 15 mins & I was able to grab a couple of photos above the sprawling crowd gathered. I then lined up to tour the palace (8 euros) & was caught amongst several large tourism groups. A working palace, the inside was extravagant & several members of the royal family are still in residence. It’s obvious that Monaco is very proud of its independent state status.
When I arrived in Monaco, I departed at the Place d’Armes bus stop & walked the stairs up to the palace - quite a long way up. The views along the way were spectacular with sweeping sights over Monte Carlo. I walked through the cathedral which was in the same area as the palace & which is where Princess Grace & Prince Albert are buried. You can sense the honour & sacredness the locals have for this church.
At 11:55 the changing of the guards takes place at the palace, all pomp & ceremony with about 30 guards taking place all up. The entire event took about 15 mins & I was able to grab a couple of photos above the sprawling crowd gathered. I then lined up to tour the palace (8 euros) & was caught amongst several large tourism groups. A working palace, the inside was extravagant & several members of the royal family are still in residence. It’s obvious that Monaco is very proud of its independent state status.
After catching a nearby bus, I jumped off at the main port & saw posters & banners already signalling the upcoming start of the Tour de France. A walk around the port was something to behold. The number & size of the boats was mind boggling. I walked by hoping some rich person would say “like to come for a ride?” Needless to say, that didn’t happen.
I continued walking around to a beach a few kilometres away where I saw the closest thing to sand so far (Nice has rocks). The sun was scorching hot & I hadn’t brought my swimmers, so I headed back.
But first a stop at the Monte Carlo Casino. There were Mercedes, Maseratis, Bentleys, Rolls Royces galore dotted around the perimeters of the casino. I went in the entrance of the casino, but you needed to pay 15 euros to get into the actual casino & I thought better of it, so left.
The 100 bus later took me back to Nice after a very satisfying day trip.
I continued walking around to a beach a few kilometres away where I saw the closest thing to sand so far (Nice has rocks). The sun was scorching hot & I hadn’t brought my swimmers, so I headed back.
But first a stop at the Monte Carlo Casino. There were Mercedes, Maseratis, Bentleys, Rolls Royces galore dotted around the perimeters of the casino. I went in the entrance of the casino, but you needed to pay 15 euros to get into the actual casino & I thought better of it, so left.
The 100 bus later took me back to Nice after a very satisfying day trip.
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