Nowhere in the world, just by walking the streets of a city, is it possible to conclude how wealthy the inhabitants of that city are like in Monaco, a state (ie Principality), and in fact only one city, where you can see luxury and wealth of incredible proportions at every turn.
I wrote to you about the old part of the city, the popular Rock Monaco vile, on which the city has developed since its foundation, I wrote about the most popular event in Monaco, the great Formula 1 race, as well as the most recognizable symbol of Monte Carlo, the expensive cars, and now it's time to walk the streets of the city and see what else makes this city special.
I come across a sign with the pedestrian direction La Condamine.
Viewpoint, Port Hercules, Stadium, Monte Carlo and Casino.
It was interesting to see this for the defibrillator, every 100, 200m, there were first aid cabinets with defibrillation devices. I believe that the city authorities care about their residents and the health of their hearts, so they are installed at every step (or are defibrillators installed, for the sake of us, not so rich, to reset us, if our hearts go crazy, after seeing the wealth of Monaco?).
I learn that La Condamine is actually the central part of the city that connects Monaco-ville (the city on the Rock) with modern Monte Carlo and that it is the oldest and liveliest part of Monaco.
In that part of Monaco, you can see ordinary people on the streets, working in markets and shops, in that part of the city it is possible to sit on a cob on the street and lean on a gardener.
Like buying a bottle of water at the machine...
From the mentioned signpost, passing through an underground passage that is clean and orderly as if someone lives in it, we head in the direction of a slightly different part of the city, towards Monte Carlo and the Casino.
The first thing we pass is the central part of La Condamine, which is best seen from the viewpoint on Rock. It is the part of the city where the Formula 1 race starts and ends.
At this moment, due to the large number of stands, it was not possible to walk around those streets without restrictions and soon, as soon as we passed the sports center (Rainier III Stadium:), which forms a large Olympic swimming pool, in which there is heated sea water in the summer, and in the winter it turns into an ice rink, we enter the complex of the port of Hercules and the elegant Marina.
Even us ordinary tourists are allowed to pass by the mooring docks, which we used to take photos next to the luxury vessels.
The size of these vessels is difficult to understand (so that no one thinks they are models 🙂). I only realized the true size of these yachts when I noticed the people on them.
These vessels are real, big ships.
I continued my walk through the famous tunnel used for the Formula 1 race, and while some luxury cars passed by, I admired the construction industry.
There is so little land in Monaco that they poured pillars in the sea and built buildings on them. Like for example for this complex.
Which is not surprising at all.
The price per m² in Monaco is around €60,000, and despite such a high price, large construction sites are still open in some parts of Monte Carlo.
To me, the concept of luxury real estate, no matter how many million € it costs, is not an apartment in a building with 20 floors.
Luxury is the one who has not exchanged his villa for several apartments in a skyscraper, but still enjoys (as much as possible) the privacy he has in his yard.
And it is clear that the person who parks a Rolls Royce a few meters from this same building, on a street where construction machines also drive, has a lot of money.
After exiting the tunnel, we climb towards the famous Fairmont Hotel.
That hotel is located on the most famous slow curve in Formula 1 racing.
Cars are parked in front of the hotel, which hint at the balance of the bank accounts of those who parked them there.
Porsches, Ferraris, and some collector's cars, parked Bentleys, and driving Ferraris, at every turn...
After seeing how some supercars pass through the curve (but also some ordinary ones, like the ones we drive), we climb up the narrow stairs to the plateau of the big, well-known Casino.
On the terrace next to the building where the Casino is located, and where the Opera is located, as well as the space where the ballet troupes perform their performances, there are several gardens, which are as interesting to me as the architecture of the building.
We go out to a large square with a spherical mirror in the fountain and announce that we have entered the period of reconstruction of the Casino building.
It doesn't matter, we saw the building from the opera house, here we are interested in the interior.
We pass the security control and enter the Casino Hall.
A hall with beautiful statues, chandeliers, pillars, and a setting under the glass roof of the Casino, as if for children, a large sculpture of a chick from Monopoly and a lot of fake steam in the air.
What symbolism... enter the casino and money will fly everywhere, but probably only from your pockets 🤣
Anyone interested can enter the gambling hall or buy one of the souvenirs. These little things are not expensive, 300, 400, 500 € or a pen for 1340 €?
Too much...
Although we thought we didn't linger too long in the Casino, when we left the Casino, the sky was overcast and the streets were wet, it looked like it was raining.
Walking in the rain? Not a problem 🙂
We headed further through the streets of Monte Carlo to see how they treat tourists here...
They are not very friendly.
They urged us to cross the street, they didn't allow us to enter a restaurant that was having a private celebration attended by dignitaries dressed in top fashion, and we didn't even want to enter one of these luxury stores.
I don't like the architecture of the modern part of Monte Carlo too much, I say, only the detached villas are beautiful to me, and the oasis between the tall solitaires are only small parks like this on the squares.
From Monte Carlo, we headed towards the port again, downhill, where I took some photos from the terraces above the Marina, which offer an interesting view (and this time I was also accompanied by a seagull).
We stopped at the Marche de la Condamine, a covered market from 1880, where we had pizza and then headed to the train station.
By the way, as another proof of luxury, a shop window in which Ferrari cars are placed, just as books or clothing items are placed in our shop windows...
This time, I skip shopping 😀
The whole of Monaco, and especially Monte Carlo, is due to the use of every meter to build expensive housing, built in a cascade, it is difficult to navigate and how intertwined it is, can best be seen in the picture from the platform of the Monte Carlo train station.
We found the entrance to the station and found ourselves in a mega building, a large tunnel with 4 stations, from where we took the train to Nice, where a well-deserved rest from the whole day #wednesdaywalk awaited us at the hotel.
I hope that with this walk I managed to convey to you the luxury that can be seen and experienced in Monaco and I hope that you like my story as well as the photos that I shared with you.
Until the next walk from another city, greetings to all Hiva travelers and walkers.