FRANCE 2022 Trip report Day 8: Monaco: Palace, Cathédrale de Monaco, Musée océanographique de Monaco
DAY 8, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
STAY
Antibes apt continued
SIGHTS
Monaco: Palace, Cathédrale de Monaco, Musée océanographique de Monaco
DRIVE TO MONACO
We drove to Monaco, our prime goal in sightseeing on the Cote d'azur.
Monaco is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera on the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by France to the north, east and west. The principality is home to 38,682 residents, of whom 9,486 are Monégasque nationals; it is widely recognised as one of the most expensive and wealthiest places in the world
we parked at the underground garage and walked to the palace.
Amazing views on the way
The Prince's Palace of Monaco ( Palais princier de Monaco)
The Prince’s Palace in Monaco is a private residence, but the State Apartments are open to visitors for
part of the year. €10, September 1st to October 15th : 10 am to 5 pm (Palace closing time 6 pm).
We bought a combo ticket for palace and oceanarium
Its origins date back to 1215
Following a succession of transformations, the ancient Genoese fortress became one of the most luxurious residences of the seventeenth century, in a style characteristic of the Louis XIV era.
Prince Honoré II assembled substantial collections of artworks here, which unfortunately disappeared
during the French Revolution, when the Palace was looted and used as a hospital for troops from the
Italian Army.
Today, it is possible to admire the splendours of the Palace, including: the Palace Chapel, dedicated to
St. John the Baptist, the Hercule Gallery, the Mirror Gallery, the Red Room, the York Room, the
Yellow Room or Louis XV Bedroom, and the Throne Room, as well as numerous frescoes,
tapestries, and items of furniture.
AWESOME LIBRARY
we went round the whole set twice and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
We caught only the fag end of the changing of guards
LOVELY VIEWS OF MONACO PIERS
walked back enjoying the view of the lovely pier
Port de Fontvieille
Cathédrale de Monaco
Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-Immaculée), sometimes called Saint Nicholas Cathedral (name of the old church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of seafarers,
This Roman-Byzantine style building was constructed in 1875 using white stone from La Turbie. It
houses the tombs of Monaco’s former Princes.
Inside, alongside the magnificent high altar and the
Episcopal throne made from white Carrara marble, stands a retable de st nicolas [altarpiece of St Nicolas ] by the Niçois painter Louis Bréa, which dates from the year 1500.
the famous altarpiece of St Nicolas below
Oceanographic Museum of Monaco/Musée océanographique de Monaco
we had bought a combo ticket for palace and the oceanography museum.
the museum has an impressive façade above the sea, towering over the sheer cliff face to a height of 279 feet (85.04 m). It took eleven years to build, using 100,000 tons of stone from La Turbie.
During construction, the names of twenty well-known oceanographic research vessels personally selected by Prince Albert I were inscribed into the frieze of the museum's façade
An aquarium in the basement of the museum presents a wide array of flora and fauna. Four thousand species of fish and over 200 families of invertebrates can be seen. (starfish, seahorses, turtles, jellyfish, crabs, lobsters, rays, sharks, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, eels, cuttlefish etc.).
beautiful collection as can be seen in the videos.
we went up to the 1st floor
here, A Sailor’s Career showcases the work of Prince Albert I. It includes the laboratory from L’Hirondelle, the first of Prince Albert's research yachts. Observations made there led to an understanding of the phenomenon of anaphylaxis, for which Dr Charles Richet received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1913
The museum's holdings also include a great variety of sea related objects, including model ships, sea animal skeletons, tools, weapons etc., as well as a collection of material culture and ritual objects made from, or integrating materials such as pearls, molluscs and nacre
Drove to the royal vintage car collection, parking was not accessible, walk was too long, we had to regretfully give up.
Leaving here some info on the choice of roads to drive
Corniche roads
three options for the drive between Nice and Monte Carlo in Monaco: dramatic coastal views, dramatic coastal views or, well, dramatic coastal views. Each of the three Corniche roads unfurls like a ribbon fluttering in the breeze, with varying heights offering different vistas of the mountains and coast.
The rather unfairly named Corniche Inférieure (or Basse Corniche) is actually a superior bet if beach-combing is your aim, as it hugs the coast more closely than its pretty much parallel cousins. You’ll skim past – and maybe stay awhile at – beach resorts Villefranche-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Cap d’Ail before rolling by Monaco’s sleek, yacht-filled ports to downtown Monte Carlo.
Next up is the Moyenne Corniche, which can be followed all the way to Italy. It was built in the 1920s to help ease tourist traffic on the lower road. Pick it up from Nice Airport and drive towards Menton, known for its botanical gardens. Allow time to visit hilltop villages and to stop at coastal overlooks.
And then there’s the granddaddy of them all, the Grande Corniche – sometimes called the Haute (high) Corniche. Perched higher than the others, it traces the Ancient Roman road, Via Julia Augusta, and a route marched by Napoleon I in 1815. A little more recently, the mountain pass by Col d’Èze featured in James Bond film GoldenEye.
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