Arles also is a good base to do a day trip to explore Cote d'Azur, the stretch of French Mediterranean coast stretching from east of Marseille all the way to Menton at the Italian border. It includes all the famous cities you have certainly heard of or seen in movies, and home of the rich and famous and jet- (or yacht-) set: Cannes, Saint Tropez, Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo. We drove to Nice and then took a bus to Monaco on our last day in the Provence-Cote d'Azure region.
 |
| Port of Nice has its fair share of yachts mooring here. This is where to catch a ferry to the island Corsica |
 |
| Napoleon once stayed in this house next to our restaurant in Nice |
 |
| Vieux Nice is the pastel old town lined with narrow lanes and filled with residents and commercial activities |
 |
| Its layout has not changed much since 1700, not even their windows! |
 |
| Rue Rossetti leads to Cathedrale Ste-Reparate |
 |
| Place Rossetti in front of the cathedral is a sea of tourists and market stalls |
 |
| The Baroque interior of the cathedral offers some respite from the noise and crowd outside |
 |
| Long beautiful coastline and mild Mediterranean climate were what attracted the first vacationers to Nice |
 |
| It's hard to find a spot to share the beach. A long promenade runs along the whole beach front |
 |
| In case you haven't noticed, the beach is not the fine sandy type. Cote d'Azure does not have sandy beaches. Truthfully, even though they describe it as "pebble" beach, it should be called "boulder" beach! |
 |
| If you are tired of walking, you can join a segway tour of the city |
 |
| We took a local city bus from Nice to Monaco along the scenic Cote d'Azure (Coast of Deep Blue) |
 |
| This is THE vacation hot spot in France and Europe. Developments are evident everywhere |
 |
| We did not have time to visit the highly recommended Eze, a tiny village nestled on top of the steep hill hugging the coast here |
 |
| The bus arrived in the Principality of Monaco 30 mins later. It is a tiny country on the French coast next to the Italian border |
 |
| Monaco is the second smallest country in the world after Vatican with only less than 40000 people |
 |
| It's easy to find the border between France and Monaco. Hint: It is the line where the highrise buildings stopped just below the mountains behind |
 |
| Prince's Palace. Monaco is a constitutional monarch ruled by Prince Albert II. The Prince is in town if the flag is hoisted |
 |
| Palace Ground. Prince Albert II is the son of Rainier III and the famous American actress Grace Kelly who retired from her acting career to become Princess of Monaco in 1956 |
 |
| Monaco has one of the highest GDP per capita through industries like tourism, gambling, and banking services |
 |
| We found everything in Monaco was spic and span clean (Maybe even better than Singapore!) We saw no garbage on the street and the buildings all looked to be freshly painted! |
 |
| This includes the Monaco Cathedral. We have never seen a historic cathedral so well maintained both inside and outside anywhere! |
 |
| Princess Grace Kelly died in a car accident in 1982 and is buried inside the cathedral |
 |
| Monaco uses French as its official language. It also uses Euro as currency and there is no border formality between Monaco and France even though it is not part of EU |
 |
| Monaco is a tax haven and playground for the super-rich. It has the world's lowest poverty rate and highest number of millionaires/billionaires per capita, easy to tell from the numerous super-yachts jamming the port |
 |
| These cannonballs are just for show only. France now takes care of Monaco's defense through signed treaty |
 |
| Welcome to my yacht! All aboard! |
 |
| Monaco was saved from certain bankruptcy when it legalized gambling in 1856. In fact, Casino Monte Carlo (Mount Charles) here is the original casino named after French King Charles III who gave the consent |
 |
| I wonder if all these fancy expensive cars parked outside the casino were just for shown only or their owners were inside gambling? |
 |
| The casino, with the opening of new railroad at that time, was such a huge success that income tax was abolished for Monaco's citizens |
 |
| The opulent interior of the casino |
 |
| Like Singapore, local citizens (except employees) are forbidden to enter the casino. Guards would check passports of all guests |
 |
| The famous Formula One Monaco Grand Prix held in May annually runs past this park outside the casino |
 |
| On our drive back to Arles, we drove by Cannes to look at the night scene of this famous town known for the Cannes Film Festival |
No comments:
Post a Comment