A Quick Stop in Monaco

During our July 2015 trip to the French Riviera, we decided to hop a train from Nice to Monaco. It’s a short distance — the ride takes only 15 minutes or so. I was confused about the difference between Monaco and Monte Carlo, as some people tend to use those terms interchangeably. As I understand it, Monaco is a small country, or micro-state. It has its own government, is part of the United Nations, and has its own foreign policy. Monte Carlo is simply one neighborhood within that country. Interestingly, Monte Carlo isn’t the capital of the country, Monaco-Ville is.

When we arrived, we hopped off the train, and walked through a tunnel to reach the outside.

Train station in Monaco

We found ourselves near a marina with many yachts, of course there is copious wealth on display here.

Marina in Monaco

Monaco from the water

We walked along the water a bit, then uphill toward the casino.

Monaco Streets

Casino in Monte Carlo

We then walked back from the casino toward Monaco-Ville, where we could see the palace and some of the old town area. On the way there, like other tourists, we took a few photos..

Tourists take photos in Monaco

Monaco street view

We also tried very hard not to break the local dress code…..

Monaco dress code

We climbed up the hill to Monaco-Ville, and the view was spectacular.

View of Monaco from Monaco-Ville

At the top of the hill was the Palace, and we were able to watch the changing of the guard.

Monaco Palace

The view from the other side of the Palace was also stunning:

Monaco View

We wandered around Monaco-Ville, which was old and more compact. It was extremely busy with tourists, and I didn’t take as many photos as I typically would. Here are a few:

Inside small church, Monaco

Submarine outside Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium

Monaco Cathedral

Interesting building..

I’d say we spent about four hours total wandering around. Truth be told, Monaco wasn’t my favorite place — just too many other tourists, and I felt it was a little hard to get around in places. I’m glad we went, and I really enjoyed the views, but later that day we moved on to Menton, a place that was much more my speed.