I used to be convinced that only those with a billion could vacation on the Côte d’Azur.
We decided to go on our own and for 11 days. We spent 2526 € for 11 days on the Côte d’Azur for two people.
It is believed that the romantic name was invented by French writer Stéphane Liéjart. In 1887, he published a novel called “The Azure Coast”, having been impressed by the beauty of the local bays. The water near the shore is indeed clear azure in color
What’s the Côte d’Azur
The Côte d’Azur is the Mediterranean coast of France, its length is about 300 kilometers. It is also called the French Riviera.
In fact, it is one endless beach washed by the Ligurian Sea. According to different sources, the Côte d’Azur starts from Marseille, Toulon or Cassis, and ends at the border with Italy. The most famous cities are Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, and the Principality of Monaco.
The Côte d’Azur is surrounded by the Alps to the north and east and the St. Bôme, Mauve and Esterel ranges to the west, with altitudes of up to 3,000 meters. Thanks to this, the weather is perfect all year round. Summers are sunny but mild: the average temperature in July is +24…26 °C, but the humidity on the coast is very low, so this temperature is easily tolerated. The bathing season is from May to October.
Winter is also comfortable, with an average of +10°C in January. At this time of year people come here for impressions and history, as well as for skiing – for example, at the resort “Isola 2000” 100 km from Nice. There are few tourists in the city itself, and museums, restaurants and hotels offer discounts.
The resorts of the Côte d’Azur are considered to be among the best in the world. The climate, picturesque nature and well-developed infrastructure attract bohemians from all over the world. And the opportunity to see celebrities strolling peacefully along the promenades, makes the Cote d’Azur attractive to thousands of ordinary tourists. People also come here for entertainment and gambling in casinos, for wine and Provencal cuisine, as well as for the history that dates back to the Roman Empire.
If Google Maps is to be believed, you can drive the entire coastline in five hours and a bit.
What you need to know before traveling
The currency of France and Monaco is the euro. You can exchange money at one of the many money changers or withdraw it from an ATM. Everywhere we went, you could pay by card. It even seemed to me that cards are more readily accepted here than cash.
On a trip I advise you to take special shoes for walking on coral – aquashoosi. There are no corals in Nice, but all the beaches are pebbly. Walking barefoot on them was quite unpleasant for me.
Lying on a towel on the pebble beach is also a pleasure for amateurs, something like a kind of yoga. There is a fee for renting sun beds on the spot. If you want to save money, you should bring an extra soft sun lounger.
Flight
There are two major international airports on the Côte d’Azur: Marseille and Nice. There is also an airport in Cannes, but it accepts only flights on private airplanes. To rent such a plane costs from 5570 €. If you are not ready to part with this sum, the first two options remain.
Nice airport and the road to the city
Nice Airport is consistently ranked among the airports with the most beautiful views from the porthole window on landing. In clear weather, you can see the Monte Carlo casino in Monaco, the peaks of the Alps and the streets of the old town. The airport is located on the waterfront and it looks as if the plane is landing in the sea.
The airport consists of two terminals, between which there is a free shuttle. It took us about 20 minutes to get through passport control, and by that time our luggage was already on the belt.
Getting from the airport to the city center costs from 1.5 € and takes 15 to 60 minutes. You can get there by streetcar, bus, Aeroexpress or cab.
Streetcar 2 is one of the most budget-friendly ways to get to the center, costing just €1.5. Tickets are sold in vending machines at the stops and from the driver. It takes 25-30 minutes to get to the center along the waterfront.
It is easy to find the stops at the airport by the streetcar tracks near the terminal exits. Streetcars run at 10-minute intervals, the last one at 20:25.
Flight buses depart from the Aéroport/Promenade stop, located 200 meters from the Terminal 1 exit. The fare costs the same 1.5 €. You can check the timetable on the official Nice public transportation website or read it directly at the bus stop.
The Aeroexpress costs 6€ per person. It looks like a big bus. There are two routes: No. 99 goes to the main station of Nice, and No. 98 goes all along the Promenade des Anglais and stops at the central square. The Aeroexpress is faster than streetcars and regular buses because it does not stop at intermediate stops.
Cabs can be booked in advance, for example on the Kivitaxi website or directly at the airport check-in desk. On average, a trip to the city center will cost 35-40 € and take about 15 minutes.
3. Housing
Nice is one of the most fashionable resorts on the Cote d’Azur. Therefore, it is almost impossible to find cheap accommodation here. A place in a hostel in the city center near the beach will cost from 13 € in a room for 14 people. For 50 € you can stay in a room for two in a hostel or a small family hotel.
We decided to rent a studio. There is no difference in money, but the apartment has a kitchen, and you can also feel like a local, saying hello to your French neighbors every morning.
Initially we were considering apartments closer to the train station, as we planned to ride the trains along the coast. But in the end we changed our minds. It turned out to be the right thing to do, because the train station is not safe, there are a lot of thieves and beggars there.
Nice is divided into quarters, some of which are considered favorable, others – not. According to my observations, you should not settle in La Madeleine quarter, travelers scold it for dirt and lack of tourist infrastructure. I was also unimpressed with Les Moulins in the west of the city – it is a working-class neighborhood with box houses, construction sites and machine shops, and it is far from the sea.
The most obvious option that comes to mind is to stay in the Old Town area. But that means staying up until morning: life here is buzzing around the clock. And you’ll have to pay at least €80 a night. If you want to save money, you can look at the northern neighborhoods of Libération and Saint Sylvestre. They are far from the sea, but close to the station, from where it is convenient to get trains to the beaches of the surrounding towns and travel around the region. A studio apartment here costs an average of 55 € per night.
The compromise is the western neighborhoods of Magnan and Fabron: close to the sea and prices are moderate – about 60 € per night.
We chose our apartment for almost a month, constantly changing our minds and traveling around the virtual map. Some options suited us in terms of price, but not in other respects. One of the apartments we liked did not have air conditioning. Another apartment had no refrigerator. In addition, we wanted a view of the street, not the courtyard, which narrowed the search even more.
In the end we settled on an apartment in the Nice Centre area. The studio cost 100 € per night.
We liked the place very much. The apartment was on the top floor of a five-story building with round balconies, carved lattices, a spacious hallway, twisted staircases, and an elevator from the last century with a hand-forged grille instead of a door.
Inside there was everything you need when traveling: refrigerator, stove, iron, hair dryer, dishes, air conditioning. The only thing missing was a microwave, but the owner promised to buy it for the next tenants.
The location was very good: away from the noisy streets of the Old Town, close to the train station and a five minute walk to the free beach. The nearest supermarket was a minute away. In addition, the hospitable host presented us with a bottle of wine, which finally won us over.
4. Beaches
Nice. The exact number of beaches in Nice varies from source to source: from 22 to 37. But, in my opinion, the beach is only one – a length of 7 kilometers, divided into sections. Small pebbles on them alternate with coarse, and closer to the outskirts there are boulders. There are no sandy beaches in Nice.
The beach strip is below the level of the city: you have to go down the stairs to the sea. Therefore, tourists sometimes complain that they lie on the beach under passing cars. But in fact, all beaches are very clean, the water is clear, and there are relatively few people in late August. If you choose a beach closer to the airport and away from the center, you can sunbathe alone.
There are paid and free beaches in Nice. The difference is in the availability of toilets, changing rooms and sun loungers. At the entrance to the paid beach tourists are obliged to rent a sun lounger – it costs on average 15-20 €. Another 10 € will cost an umbrella and a towel, but they can be taken or not taken at will.
The best paid beaches in Nice are Blue Beach opposite the famous Hotel Negresco and Castel in the Bay of Angels, framed on the left by a steep cliff. The latter is home to the eponymous restaurant of Provencal cuisine, which is considered one of the best in Nice. Therefore, it is always crowded.
We sunbathed on the public beach next door to Blue Beach.
Around Nice. If you want to sunbathe on the sand, you can go to nearby towns such as Antibes or Villefranche-sur-Mer. Antibes can be reached by bus 200 from Nice to Cannes in an hour and €1.5 or by train in 27 minutes and €4.8. Villefranche-sur-Mer is reached by bus #100 Nice – Monaco in 20 minutes and 1.5 €, or by train in 7 minutes and 2 €. The trains from Nice are always full of people in beachwear and with swimming laps.
In Cannes, the beaches are organized in the same way as in Nice. Municipal beaches alternate with paid ones, and they are separated from the busy highway by a narrow pedestrian zone. The only difference is that Cannes has white sand instead of pebbles.
At the same time, I saw twice as many tourists on the beaches in Cannes as in Nice. Families come here in the morning, dig umbrellas and mini-fridges into the sand, and stay until late in the evening. Between the vacationers snooping vendors hats, jewelry, pareos and other beach trifles and obsessively offer their goods. So, if I have to choose between pebbles in Nice and sand in Cannes, I definitely vote for pebbles.
On the plus side, almost all beaches in Cannes, including the municipal ones, have changing cabins, toilets and lockers.
The Larvotto beach in Monaco has a special character: it is sandy, but the sand is not real sand. It is imported and carefully sifted. That’s what the guidebooks say. Tourists often mention that it is not sand, but very fine pebbles. Where is the truth, where is a lie – we could not check. Also in the coastal waters there are no jellyfish and other sea creatures, because the water area of the beach is protected by a special net. However, in Nice, where there are no nets, we did not see anyone in the water either.
Tour guides call Larvotto one of the most glamorous beaches in the world. One of them told us that topless sunbathing and wearing jewelry is considered a good thing for women here. A girl in a swimsuit but without diamonds around her neck will cause bewilderment and even condemnation in the paid section of the beach.
5. Food
We are not gourmets, and we managed to save a bit on food. On average we spent about 50 € per day for two people. If we ate in restaurants, we spent less in the store and vice versa.
Cafes and restaurants. A full breakfast in street cafes in Nice cost 5-11 €. It included cappuccino, orange juice, croissant, toast or scrambled eggs. We took it almost every day. But we had lunch and dinner out of the house less often. Restaurants in Nice’s Old Town are expensive, and in the evenings there are no vacancies.
Here are the places that are recommended in Nice.
Le Chantecler is a two Michelin-starred restaurant that you’ll find in all the guidebooks. It is located in the Hotel Negresco. Places here are booked in advance, and the average check starts from 70 € per person. We decided to explore the Côte d’Azur in a more budget-friendly way.
La Pizza Cresci, a pizzeria that a casual French acquaintance advertised as the best in town. The queue at the entrance confirmed her words. We didn’t get a gastronomic revelation, but the pizza was tasty and hearty, and the waiters, though not smiling, were prompt. We spent about 40 € for two pizza halves and drinks.
A Buteghinna is a café in old Nice, open for lunch only. It serves local cuisine, and its specialty is traditional crepes. A portion of crepes costs from 5 €, and the average check per person – from 20 €. The downside is that there is no menu in English, but the staff carefully explained everything to us on their fingers.
Supermarkets. In Nice it is very easy to cook at home. Just buy salad leaves, salmon, cheese and dressing, and a culinary masterpiece can be born in a small rented kitchen.
We shopped at the nearby Spar and Carrefour supermarkets. I liked the latter better for its assortment, and also for the fact that it was open on Sunday: a rarity in Nice.
Here’s a standard grocery basket in Nice:
- packaged salmon – 8 €;
- peeled shrimp, 200 g – 5,99 €;
- olive oil, small bottle – 5 €;
- salami, sliced – 2,29 €;
- bread – from 2 €;
- cheese, packet – from 1,6 €;
- sugar, packet – 1,59 €;
- green salad – 1,5 €;
- tea, packet – 1,5 €;
- pasta, 375 g – 1,34 €.
6. Transportation
Nice has city streetcars and buses, and there are buses, trains and trains between the cities of the Côte d’Azur. In my opinion, the most convenient way to travel around the region is by train. I will tell you more about each mode of transportation.
The city’s streetcars. Nice has only three streetcar routes that ring almost the entire city. The streetcars are new, quiet and nice. The ticket price is 1,5 €.
City buses. There are many bus routes in Nice. Periodically they change the route and time of movement. You can track the schedule on the official website or at bus stops.
Tickets are sold by the driver or at streetcar stops. Strangely enough, we did not see ticket machines at bus stops.
A single ticket costs 1.5 € and is valid for 74 minutes in different modes of transportation, but only one way. That is, you can take one bus, punch the ticket, get off after a couple of stops and take another bus in the same direction. You can’t go back and forth on the same ticket, even if you meet the time limit. But you can use the same ticket to travel from Nice to Cannes, Grasse and other cities.
You can also buy a day pass for 5 € or 10 tickets for 10 € in bulk. But a set of 10 tickets, unlike the others, will not be valid for long-distance travel.
The ticket must be postmarked, otherwise it is invalid. The fine for a stowaway is 49.5 €, and for a ticket that is not composted it is 33.5 €. This is a shame when the ticket costs 1.5 €.
The buses themselves are clean and comfortable. It’s funny that they don’t stop at every stop, but only on demand – you have to press the button by the door. And to get on the bus, you have to “catch” it with a raised hand. If there are no vacant seats in the cabin, the driver can easily shrug his shoulders and not stop.
Intercity buses. There is a bus number 200 between Nice and Cannes. The journey will take about an hour and a half and the ticket costs €1.5. The official landing place in Nice is Phoenix Park, but we saw stops along the entire length of the Promenade des Anglais. In Cannes, the bus arrives at the bus station near the Old Town.
You can get to Monaco from Nice by bus #100 Nice – Menton for an hour and 1,5 €. The stop in Nice is the port and in Monaco it is best to get off at the main casino.
I found intercity buses even more comfortable than city buses. They have comfortable cushioned seats in two rows, folding tables and sometimes even a toilet.
Electric trains and high-speed trains are my favorite way to travel on the Côte d’Azur. We rode only electric trains, you can recognize them by the TER mark on the board and on the ticket. It takes 40-50 minutes and 5-8€ to get to Cannes from Nice, 25 minutes and 5€ to Monaco. If you take a round-trip ticket, you will get cheaper by 1 €.
An electric train ticket is valid for all trains of the selected direction during the day. That is, you can pass a couple of stations, go for a walk and get on the next train with the same ticket. The seats on the ticket are not specified, they are taken spontaneously. We left before nine in the morning, and there were always free seats by the windows.
We looked at the schedule in advance online. You can also buy tickets online, but we preferred to take them from the machines at the station. The guidebooks say that the machines accept cash and cards, but we were only able to pay by card. You can buy a ticket for cash at the ticket office, but the queue is always longer.
Before boarding the train, you must validate your ticket. They are not checked when boarding the train. We did not see any controllers, but they are said to walk around.
In addition to electric trains, there are high-speed trains – they are convenient to use for long journeys. Tickets for them are valid for only one train, and they indicate a specific seat. We did not ride on such trains.
The sign at the station looks like this. Intermediate stops are not marked on it – only the direction. So be sure to check when buying a ticket what the final stop of your train is
We opted out of renting a car for two reasons. First, trains or buses were cheaper. Secondly, they are much less stressful.
The thing is that parking on the Côte d’Azur is complicated. There are no free street parking lots in the center of Nice, and the maximum parking time at paid ones is two hours. If you want to extend the time, you need to move your car to another place. Despite the restriction, free spaces are hard to find. An hour of parking costs 1.3 € and is paid at parking machines. In addition, there are several multi-level parking lots in the city center, where you can stay for 24 €.
Gasoline costs €1.4 per liter.
Separately it is worth mentioning the fines: for unfastened seat belt – 135 €, for speeding outside populated areas up to 20 km/h – 68 €. And if alcohol is found in the blood more than 0.5-0.8 ppm, there will be a fine of 135 € and a ban on driving in France for three years.
7. What to see in Nice
The Promenade des Anglais is a favorite place for tourists and locals alike. Luxury hotels line the promenade, with athletes jogging and cyclists riding past them. In the evenings, street musicians play and sing.
The Negresco Hotel plays a major role in the landscape of the Promenade des Anglais. It is one of the top 10 best hotels in the world according to various magazines. At the opening of the hotel in 1913, representatives of the monarchical families of Europe were present, and since 1974 it has been under state protection as an architectural monument.
No two rooms at the Negresco are alike, and all rooms are decorated with authentic paintings and sculptures by famous artists, including Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. Catherine Deneuve and Alain Delon, Picasso and Dali, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Aznavour and even Yuri Gagarin have stayed here at various times. Elton John filmed the hotel in his music video for the song I’m Still Standing. According to legend, Bill Gates tried several times to buy the hotel. He promised its owner to cash out any amount she would write on a piece of paper. To which she replied that he wasn’t rich enough.
Any tourist can enter the Negresco like a museum. No one will look at you suspiciously, the French are very democratic and reserved. But they won’t give you a tour of the hotel either – and I wanted to.
Nice’s old town is typical of Europe: you can wander endlessly through the labyrinth of narrow streets. There are many cafes, vintage stores and beautiful old churches hidden here. I was most impressed by the Cathedral of St. Reparata, the patron saint of Nice.
Place Massena is one of the main “postcard” views of Nice and another center of cultural life. The square is paved with black and white tiles and its perimeter is lined with terracotta houses in the same style. There are also seven statues in the form of sages on ten-meter metal masts, which at night glow mystically with different colors. During the day, they evoke ambivalent feelings because they seem like a patch in the middle of a beautiful square.
In the evenings, there are musicians, concerts and skateboarding competitions in Place Massena. We once saw a pianist who came to the square with his instrument and played classical melodies.
Castle Hill is one of the best viewpoints in town and a favorite picnic spot for local youths. You can climb up the steps if you are strong enough, or take the rock elevator, which is located across the road from Castell Beach. The price of the elevator is 1 €, while walking is free. It takes about an hour to walk past beautiful views, entourage courtyards and greenery.
Wise men on masts – installation “Conversation in Nice” by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa. Seven statues symbolize the seven continents
Phoenix Park is a natural shady park where you can escape the lunchtime heat. The park is home to several thousand species of plants and many animals, including kangaroos, lemurs, black swans and pink flamingos.
Getting to the park from the city center is convenient by streetcar number 2 or any bus towards the airport, which stops at the Parc Phoenix stop. You can walk about 5 km from the Hotel Negresco, but the route is not too interesting. Entrance costs 5€ for adults, 3€ for children.
Museums. Nice is second only to Paris in the number of museums. If you are going to visit them actively, I advise you to take a single card for all municipal museums. The card for 24 hours costs 10 €, for 7 days – 20 €. Here are the main museums and galleries:
- Matisse Museum is an exposition of paintings, sculptures, tapestries and even paper cutouts of the famous artist. The museum is housed in a 17th century mansion, the second floor of which the artist rented at the end of his life.
- The Massena Museum is dedicated to the history of the Riviera from the Middle Ages to the present day. Inside the villa there are palace rooms, collections of valuable furniture, jewelry, porcelain and weapons.
- The Museum of Modern Art. There are mostly works of avant-garde artists from the 50s of the 20th century. The most famous of the artists whose works are represented here are Andy Warhol and Paul Cezanne. The observation decks inside the museum offer beautiful views of the city.
- The Marc Chagall Museum was created with the participation of the artist himself and is mainly devoted to biblical motifs in his work.
- The Museum of Fine Arts is another 17th century villa. There are works by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Donato Creti and posters by Jules Chéret. Rodin’s sculpture “Bronze Age” is considered the treasure of the collection.
The museums are located quite compactly, but it will be difficult to get around them all in one day.
8. What to see in Cannes
The first thing I associate Cannes with is the Cannes Film Festival. The second is luxury and glamor. Cannes has both, but behind the luxurious hotels on the Croisette are rather dirty and unremarkable neighborhoods. And the sights can be listed on the fingers of one hand.
I thought that Cannes was a beautiful wrapper, which is better not to unwrap, but to admire it from afar. It was worth going once, but I will only return here when I am invited to the Cannes Festival.
A day trip from Nice cost us 73€ for two people:
- breakfast on the street of the Old Town – 23 €;
- round trip – 20 €;
- lunch at McDonald’s and ice cream on the promenade – 20 €;
- magnets as a gift – 10 €.
The Croisette is a promenade along the sea about 3 kilometers long. Along the coast there are giant palm trees, boutique shop windows, hotels with doormen dressed in Armani jackets, and a highway with luxury sports cars racing along it. The beach is sandy, but I was not impressed: because of the number of people it reminded me of the beaches of Anapa, although with an expensive tag. Ice cream here was three times more expensive than in Nice. Part of the beach is given over to private clubs, the entrance to which is restricted.
The promenade goes all the way to the harbor where the expensive yachts are parked. They are millions of millions of dollars on a small piece of sea. As you walk along them, you begin to realize that money actually smells like fuel and salt water.
Palais des Congrès and the Walk of Stars. The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is the place that attracts millions of celebrities to the Cannes Film Festival every year in May. On reports from the festival, the palace looks imposing, sparkling and very beautiful.
But the rest of the time, it’s not so easy to match it with a pretty picture from the TV. It’s a very simple, albeit imposing building. The staircase to the main entrance, known as the “24 steps to fame,” is red-carpeted and strewn with tourists who dream of a beautiful photo. So there was no way to take a photo alone and feel like a movie diva.
Inside the palace is a tourist office and souvenir store.
Next to the palace is the “Alley of Stars”: square plates with the palm prints of celebrities. It’s not the hands that are interesting to look at, but the autographs and dates. We found only Luc Besson and Jean-Paul Belmondo. The rest were hidden somewhere in the courtyard or were closed by restoration.
The old town of Cannes. If you walk uphill along the promenade from the expensive hotels, the scenery gradually changes. Pompous buildings are replaced by old buildings with tiled roofs and flowers in tubs. This is the Old Town with all its attributes: streets, restaurants, stores. If you climb up the stairs to the fortress walls, you will have a view of the city and the port.
We enjoyed walking here during the day: the houses are very crowded and you can escape the heat in their shade. But most places don’t open until around 5pm. At 11am, we had a hard time finding a small cafe open with a nice hostess who politely chatted with visitors, sitting down at each table and recommending her specialties. We had planned to have dinner at her place too, but by evening there were no more seats available. The old town had become active and noisy and had lost its charm for me.
9. What to see in Monaco
In all 11 days only in Monaco we went back twice. I really liked it here: everything is clean and beautiful, as if from a picture. No one throws garbage in the street. There are no police officers, but there are lots of cameras.
It seemed to us that Monaco is a place that does not obey the laws of physics or geography. The city is located on different levels connected by elevators. These elevators can take you to the most unexpected places. We got into one near the casino and found ourselves in a strange underground tunnel. We decided that we had made a mistake and hurried back.
And at home we read that it was the same tunnel from which race cars at Formula 1 Grand Prix fly out at great speed. So, if you have the time and desire to get into an adventure, I advise you to get into all the elevators that get in the way.
Two trips to Monaco cost us 128€ for two people:
- lunch in the Old Town – 45 €;
- train fare is 40 €;
- gifts and souvenirs – 25 €;
- breakfast coffee and a bun in a street cafe – 15 €;
- bus ticket to the station – 3 €.
Monaco’s train station is the place where my introduction to the Principality began. The train station is located in a cliff. It has six exits to different parts of the city, including via underground elevators. We only used two of the exits. Once we took the elevator and came out in the high part of town, a 10 minute walk from the Monte Carlo Casino. The second time went down the stairs and came out at the Church of St. Devota across the waterfront.
If you have only one day in the Principality, I advise you to start with the casino. It’s easier to walk down to the Old Town and the waterfront than to walk uphill to the casino after a walk.
The Church of St. Devota, located right in front of the train station. Brides in Monaco bring bouquets to Devota’s tomb after the ceremony, believing that this will bring happiness and wealth to the family.
Monte Carlo Casino is called the European Las Vegas. It is the oldest gambling house in Europe. Until 13:00 its doors are open for tourists with audio guides, from 14:00 to 17:00 tourists can play, and by 17:00 the first visitors in expensive sports cars begin to arrive.
We went into the casino at 11:00 and we were wrong. It’s crowded and you can’t place a bet. It’s like being given a beautiful cake, but you can only look at it. But starting from 14:00 two 5 € chips are included in the ticket price.
The ticket costs 17 € and can be bought at the pavilion next to the Café Paris. It includes an audio guide. Any clothes and children are allowed on this “excursion”. But in order to play roulette, poker or slot machines, you must comply with the dress code: jacket for men and dress for women, and be over 18 years old.
Interestingly, only foreigners are allowed inside. Citizens of Monaco are forbidden by law to play in casinos. Legend says that they are very gambling and do not know how to stop, and thus the state protects them from losing and ruin, which can affect the budget. But I suspect most residents just work in the principality’s gambling industry. By the way, the locals don’t pay taxes either.
In addition to the casino, the building houses an opera house, a club with a dance floor and three restaurants. As for the beauty of the interiors, I thought it was expensive and rich – in the best traditions of aristocratic palaces.
For me, a visit to the Monte Carlo Casino was a dream come true because it is just like the pictures. It’s perfect. The perfect combination of luxury and elegance.
In the center of the square, opposite the entrance is a fountain with a curved mirror. This is a sculpture “Heavenly Mirror” by Indian artist Anish Kapoor
Café Bistro Paris is considered legendary and a must-visit in Monaco. Its prices don’t bite as much as I thought they would: for example, a Nicoise salad costs 23€ and a traditional French crepe Suzette costs 13€. We wanted to have a coffee there, but there were a lot of people, so we didn’t waste our time in line. Besides, I heard that visitors often complain about the mediocre coffee.
Sculpture Alley. This is the name given in the guidebook to a small garden with sculptures and a yoga area located right behind the casino. In fact, we saw at least three similar alleys in the city. There are many statues in Monaco, from classical busts to works by contemporary artists, which the Prince collects from all over the world.
Hidden among the greenery and flowers of the alley is an elevator that leads down to the Louis II tunnel and promenade.
Monaco-Ville is an old town built 60 meters above the sea. It is over 700 years old. It is here that many historical sights are concentrated, the main ones being the Palace Square with the princely residence, the fortress walls and the Oceanographic Museum.
Interestingly, foreigners are not allowed to settle here, regardless of the amount of money they are willing to pay. In this sense, Monaco paradoxically equates billionaires with ordinary people. You can buy Monaco citizenship and a place for your yacht in the harbor, but you cannot live near the princely palace.
You can get to the Old Town from the casino on foot or by bus for 1,5 €. We preferred to walk so we wouldn’t miss anything interesting. First we had to walk down one hill and then up another. It took about two hours to get there, including pausing for a coffee and croissant and checking out the neighborhoods along the way.
Monaco Palace has served as the residence of the princely family for many years. Part of the palace is open to tourists: the Parade Apartments and the Napoleon Museum. The ticket costs 10 € for adults and 5 € for children and students. We did not go inside.
At 11:55 a ring of tourists gathers on the square in front of the palace, waiting for the honor guard to change. The ceremony takes place to the music of the Guards Brass Band. It is free of charge and the spectacle is impressive.
To the left of the square, the new neighborhood of Fontvieille is visible from the heights. It is built entirely on reclaimed land – like islands in the UAE. The neighborhood has a marina and helipads on the roofs of the buildings.
On the other side of the square you can walk out to St. Martin’s Gardens, a park above the sea. There are sculptures, benches, the smell of the sea and lots of flowers.
The Oceanographic Museum, aka the Jacques Yves Cousteau Museum of Oceanology. I remember the name Jacques Yves Cousteau from popular science movies of the 90s. But at that time I did not know that he was not only a scientist, but also a former captain of the French Navy, a researcher and the director of a museum in Monaco.
The museum looks very much like a palace – we realized that it was not the residence of the prince only when we saw the figures of strange sea creatures and boats at the entrance. Adult ticket here costs 16 €, children – 10 $. If you buy a ticket 7 days before the visit, you can get a 20% discount.
Inside is a collection of sea creatures, skeletons of ancient fish and giant octopuses. But we preferred to just walk around.
The museum of antique cars will be of interest to both children and adults. There are collections of rare Ferraris, Maserati, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and racing cars from the Monte Carlo Rally and Formula 1 Grand Prix.
A separate ticket costs 8 € for adults and 4 € for children and students. You can also take a general ticket to the Car Museum and the Palace for 11,5 € for adults or 6 € for children. Or a general ticket to the Car Museum and Oceanology Museum for 21,5 € for adults, 12 € for children from 5 to 17 years old and 10 € for children under 5 years old.
Memorize
- In Nice, the beaches are only pebbly, so it is worth taking special shoes and soft sun beds.
- To save money, you can buy takeaways instead of restaurants or cook your own food. It is better to rent an apartment than to stay in a hotel.
- The most convenient way to travel along the Côte d’Azur is by train.
- In expensive hotels in Nice and Cannes, you can safely walk in and look around the lobby – no one will look askew.
- In Monaco, if you want adventure, get on every elevator you come across.
- You don’t have to have a lot of money to travel the Côte d’Azur.
