Monaco: A World of Glamour, Luxury and Exclusivity

While visiting the Italian Riviera, we went on a daytrip to Monaco. The world’s second smallest independent state (only the Vatican state is smaller) is known for its glamour and exclusivity and more than 30 per cent of the 40,000 inhabitants are millionaires. It is home to several celebrities, including former Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

Located on Cote d’Azur and surrounded by France, Monaco is also just 15kms from the Italian border. It offers magnificent views of the coast and crystal-blue water combined with luxury buildings and an impressive yacht harbor. With a total size of just 2.1km², Monaco is the world‘s most densely populated country and walking through the miniature state one does get the feeling that everything is built very close and dense.

Monaco is the only place we have visited so far on our trip where it is mandatory to wear a mask in all public areas and common spaces – including outside. And they authorities keep very tight control. So we had a hot day with masks on!

The Prince’s Palace and Monaco Ville

Our first stop in Monaco was the Prince’s Palace which has been the residence of Monaco’s Royal family, the house of Grimaldi, since the end of the 13^th century. Today, it’s the home of Prince Albert II and his family and every day at 11:55am, you can watch the change of guards. This was a must-do on our itinerary as Frederik is a vivid fan of the Danish Royal Life Guards and simply had to see what they looked like in Monaco!

Although of course very touristy, the change of guards was a good occasion to see the Prince’s Palace and a perfect starting point for exploring Monaco Ville – the old town of Monaco with beautiful medieval buildings, narrow pedestrian alleys, and several key monuments such as Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Also known as the rock due to its location on top of a rock foundation, this part of Monaco offers stunning views of Monaco, its harbor and the coast.

All about Cars: The Cars Collection of The Prince of Monaco

Having already ticked off a key activity on Frederik’s wish list, it was Niklas’ turn for a highlight and what better for an almost 9-year-old (with a great interest in cars and Formula 1) than visiting the Cars Collection of The Prince of Monaco.

The Cars Collection was just a short walk from Monaco Ville in Centre Commercial de Fontvielle and turned out to be a highlight for the entire family. The museum opened in 1993 when Prince Rainer III decided to make his personal car collection available to the public and today has around 100 cars on show. The cars range from veteran cars from the early 1900 to Formula 1 racer cars and the private cars of the royal family throughout the decades, including the wedding car of Prince Albert II. Information is provided about all cars and it was very fascinating to see and read.

Pure Luxury: Port Hercules and Monte Carlo Casino

From the Cars Collection Museum, it was a short walk to Port Hercules, the glamorous yacht harbor of Monaco. Famous for its luxury yachts and home to the Yacht Club of Monaco, the entire Port has an air of exclusivity and luxury. It was fun to walk through the harbor and take in the many super yachts docked. We were lucky to walk by just as one very big luxury yacht came into the port and the commotion following its docking was an experience in itself.

Port Hercules is in close distance to the most exclusive district of Monaco, Monte Carlo. The last part of our daytrip included a walk through this area and of course seeing the Monte Carlo Casino (if only from the outside). While everything in Monte Carlo is well-preserved, impressive and exclusive, Monte Carlo is the crème de la crème. Beautiful old buildings, luxury hotels, expensive Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis were everywhere and almost gave one the feeling of being back in the roaring 1920s!

All in all, we had a great trip to Monaco. It was fun for us all to see this world of extreme luxury, exclusivity and glamour and we can definitely recommend anyone to do a daytrip to this small country for a memorable experience.