During our holidays with the family we always want to see and do a lot of things. We love to explore places we haven't visited before. While we were on a campsite in the area, we decided to plan a daytrip to Monaco.

I don't think this small state on the French Riviera needs some introduction. It is well known for its wealth, luxury lifestyle, the celebrities that live there and the yearly F1 Grand Prix that is held in the streets.
We didn't want to skip this experience. In this blog I'll share you a lot of photo's that I took during our visit.

The Harbor

One of the iconic places of Monaco is the harbor. We parked our car a bit away from the city center, so when walking down to the boulevard, we had a great view over the harbor.
It is loaded with boats. A lot of fairly small ones, but also some really big and expensive yachts.

Monaco is built in a bay and there is a lot of high-rise buildings. There are quite a lot of apartments. Many famous people live here. Mostly because of the privacy and the tax advantages. From sportsmen like Max Verstappen and Novak Djokovic to actors like Nicole Kidman to influencers like Kylie Jenner, they all have a home here.

I think they were all on holiday themselves, because I haven't spotted any celebrity at all 😂

The castle

Monaco is a constitutional monarchy, so the country is ruled by a prince.
Prince Albert II and princess Charlene rule since 2005.
We started our tour by visiting the Prince's Castle that is located on the palace square.
I actually wasn't really that impressed by the looks and size of the castle. I've seen more impressive buildings in the past.
Although I didn't get the chance to take a look inside.

It wasn't planned, but we were around noon at the castle and that is the time for the change of guards. The square was filled with tourists that wanted to witness this. Exactly at 12:00 AM, a marching band came out of the castle and the guards in their tiny houses were replaced.
It was nice to witness this ceremony.

On the other side of the quare, the guards and the marching band entered one of the other buildings on the square.

The streets

After the ceremony we walked down towards the harbor. From the streets there you can see how many appartements they have built on these hills.

In the middle boulevard there is a swimming pool, which you might have seen during the Formule 1 races that are broadcasted. It's quite a strange place for a swimming pool if you ask me.

After walking the boulevard we headed towards the famous casino. The Monte Carlo Casino is a really beautiful building that was opened in 1863. It is one of the most famous casinos in the world. You might know it from the James Bond movies GoldenEye and Casino Royale.
As you can see the casino attracts a lot of tourists. Not only because of the building, but also because of the amount of expensive cars that are parked near it (later more on this!).

The details on the Monte Carlo Casino are really remarkable. The two sculpted angels above the entrance symbolize fortune and victory. Which seems a bit strange to me, because when everyone would have a victory and gather a fortune, the casino would be bankrupt soon 😀

The F1 circuit

The Monaco Grand Prix has been held since 1929, which makes it one of the oldest races on the Formula 1 calendar. The statue at the boulevard is a tribute to the rich F1 history of Monaco.

The race is held in the streets of Monaco, not on a dedicated circuit. That is why you still see some things that remind you of the races being held here each year.
One of them are the sharp Fairmont hairpin (named after the hotel) with the red and white curbstones.

This is quite a slow part of the circuit because of this hairpin.

After the hairpin the F1 cars go into the tunnel towards the boulevard where they can reach speeds upto 280 km/h (about 175 mph). Very hard to imagine when you walk there and see cars passing by at 50 km/h.

The luxury

As I already mentioned, Monaco is a state full of glamour and luxury. You can see it in the tidyness of the streets, but also on the large amounts of expensive cars that you see there. Especially around the casino you find a lot of very expensive cars.

Here are a few of them:

^{Rolls Royce}

^{Ferrari's should be red, but someone ordered a blue one}

^{A couple of cars in front of the casino}

^{Did somebody order a Lambo?}

Near the casino there is also a small shopping street. In this street you can find expensive brands like Prada, Cartier, Bvlgari and YSL and more.

I didn't dare to step in one with my sweaty shirt and my backpack because I was scared the guards would immediately throw me out, haha!

The signboards already hint on the luxury that can be bought.
Golden letters and a weapon on a marble plate.

I've seen some nice wallets in the window display, but they didn't have a price tag. But I think I wouldn't have any money left to put in these wallets if I would have bought one 😂
So, I decided not to buy one.

We really enjoyed our day in Monaco. We gawked at all the glitter and glamour. It was a really nice experience and I can really recommend everyone to pay this city-state a visit when you are in the area.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Friendlymoose

I'm an amateur photographer with a love for indoor gardening, craft beer, and cycling. As the owner of the Cycling Community and the creator of the Topcomment initiative, I focus on fostering engagement and bringing like-minded people together.
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