DAY 3
PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO
MONACO-VILLE OLD TOWN
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
OVERNIGHT IN MONTE CARLO
Monaco is a cameo kingdom, only three miles long, hugging the coast
and running only a half mile inland as it climbs the Rivera's alpine
slopes. Monte Carlo, its most famous district, has been a symbol of glamour for
over a century.
Monaco's legend was further enhanced by the marriage in 1956 of one of the world's
most eligible bachelors,
Prince Ranier III, to the beautiful American film star,
Grace Kelly.
Princess Grace met Prince Ranier when she attended the Cannes Film Festival
to promote Alfred Hitchcock's romantic thriller, To Catch a Thief. She had won a Best Actress
Academy Award in 1954 for her performance in The Country Girl and was already a "princess"
in her own right. He was the epitome of the fairy-tale Prince Charming.
Their "Wedding of the Century" was broadcast across Europe and around the world.
The ceremony was watched by an estimated 30 million people on television.
After her marriage, Princess Grace retired from acting at the age of 26 to devote herself to her role in Monaco.
Tucked between France and Italy, Monaco became a property of the
Grimaldi clan, a Genoese family, in 1297.
The original settlement of Monaco, set high on a rocky plateau above Hercules Port,
is the present day district of Monaco-Ville. The
Prince's Palace was built as a Genovese fortress
around the year 1200. (Some sources say 1191, others 1215.)
The Palace Guard is always on hand to ensure security and protect the
Prince,
H.R.H. Prince Albert II, who is one of the richest men in Europe.
At 11:55 am, we watch the changing of the guard.
After the changing of the guard, enjoy tours of the Prince's Palace and the Napoleonic Museum at your own pace with audioguides.
The rest of the afternoon is free to explore Monaco and its port.
The Prince's Palace Guard Changes Shifts at 11:55 am
©Photo by Michael Reed ~ Creative World Travel
The nearby Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception) was built from white stone in 1875 on the site of a 13th-century
church dedicated to Saint Nicolas. Also known as Saint Nicholas Cathedral, it contains the tombs of the former Princes of Monaco and also that of Grace Kelly.
The Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium in Monaco-Ville
©Photo by Michael Reed ~ Creative World Travel
The Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium was inaugurated in 1910 by its
founder, Prince Albert I. This exceptional museum of marine sciences is
a monumental architectural masterpiece whose grandiose facade rises sheer
above the sea to a height of 85 meters. It took eleven years to build,
using 100,000 tons of stone.
In the mid-19th century Princes Charles III opened what he chose to call
Monte Carlo on the opposite side of the harbor from Monaco-Ville. While Monaco's
neighbors frowned on gambling, it took only a throw of the
dice and word of mouth to turn the casino and its spectacular Mediterranean
ambiance into a blue-blooded sybarite's paradise.
Monaco's famed Casino has been the subject of countless legends and the
setting for many films. The Casino was built in 1878 by Charles Garnier,
the architect of the Opera House in Paris.
The Garden in front of the Casino in Monte Carlo Features a Work by British Sculptor Anish Kapoor
©Photo by Michael Reed ~ Creative World Travel
The Opera Gallery, Just up the Hill from the Casino, Would Be Worth A Visit During Your Free Time
©Photo by Michael Reed ~ Creative World Travel
Opera Gallery Monaco
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