We aimlessly wandered around Monaco for just an afternoon but it was enough to get a taste of the city which was full of casinos, luxurious hotels, fancy cars, endless rows of yachts and stacked concrete high rises. It was quite a contrast to the quaint town of Menton that we’d visited that morning.
Monaco is perched on a steep rocky hillside. On our walk down the switchback roads from the train station towards the water we passed rows of beautiful colorful buildings stacked on top of one another.
Cars and Boats
Monaco, home of the Grand Prix, has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world. Its the perfect place for admiring fancy boats and fancy cars. If you like either, you’ll enjoy walking around the city spotting exotic cars or deciding which yacht you’d like to own.
If you’re a car enthusiast then visit the prince’s private collection. Prince Rainer III started collecting cars at the end of the 1950s and in the 1990s his collection outgrew the palace garage so he decided to move his collection and open it to the public. His unique collection contains over 100 cars. While we were there it was also hosting an exhibition of Ferraris.
Casino
Probably the most famous landmark in Monaco is the Monte Carlos casino. We sat at an outdoor cafe and watched the tourists taking selfies and filing in and out of the casino. There was a constant parade of fancy cars driving around the square. It was a great spot for people watching (and probably some gambling as well).
As the sun began to set we took one last look over the harbor and then started our hike back up to the train station and back to our familiar home base city of Nice.
