If it weren't for the Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco would be just another little town on the Côte d'Azure.
In truth, Monaco is just one town, but likes to think of itself as four separate areas:
- Monaco Ville is the old town, built on the rock;
- Monte Carlo is the glitzy area north of the port;
- La Condamine is the port itself; and
- Fontvieille is an industrial area southwest of the port.
A system of public lifts carries pedestrians up and down Monaco's steep hillside.
Because of the Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco is a fairytale land built on luck, where the wealthy go to advertise the fact that they've got so much they're throwing it away.
Monte Carlo Grand Hotel
This is a veritable city inside the city. The Monte Carlo Grand Hotel has 636 rooms, 5 restaurants and 4 bars, a cabaret, an American games room, 16 meeting rooms, a communication centre, a swimming pool on the roof, a health centre with a sauna and boutiques. It is literally like being in a separate world, where one can spend several days without feeling the need to venture outside.
Monte Carlo, The Casino
Famous the world over, the Casino’s fabulous history was linked from the very beginning with that of the Belle Époque. Its foundations were laid in 1861, in the reign of Charles III, on the isolated plateau of the Spélugues, which was to become, five years later, the new town of Monte Carlo.
Today it is the main building, the work of the architect Charles Garnier, surmounted by two pinnacles over a glass roof, with a neo-classical facade, opening on the Monte Carlo side on to a vast staircase leading to the entrance hall which lies in front of the Opera hall.
The main building is connected on its left (when seen from the front) to a series of other buildings which house the gaming rooms which are open every day (except 1st May) from midday onwards.
The Gardens and Terraces of the Casino
Facing the famous Casino, magnificent beds of flowers and plants with the most diverse scents are harmoniously presented against a background of impeccably maintained green lawns. The central garden, which has recently been completely remodelled, conceals a carpark with several floors. These gardens are embellished with pools and fountains.
On the opposite side of the Casino, the seaside, lie terraces bathed by the sun where one may contemplate an astonishing multicoloured geometric work, "Hexagrace", by Vasarely decorating the roof of the Congress Centre Auditorium.
Getting To Monte Carlo
The Nice - Côte d`Azur International Airport is located 22 kilometers away from Monaco. Helicopter and bus services, taxis and hire cars provide permanent links between the airport and the Principality.
