Monaco: Riches, Royalty, and Racing

Even though Monaco is on the French Riviera, I thought it deserved its own post given it is its own country and pretty different from the rest of the French Riviera. Truly a country of riches and luxury!

Monaco has been its own country since 1297 and the same royal family has been governing it since then. It is truly a country of the rich and the famous with 30% of its residents being millionaires. Monaco is only roughly 2 square kilometers (1.2 square miles) in size and is the second smallest country, only to the Vatican. It has has around 7,000 citizens, as well as 30,000 other residents living here. To become a citizen, your family (only on your fathers side) has to live in Monaco for 7 generations! The only other way to become a citizen is to shell out millions of dollars.

One of the main thing that attracts people to Monaco, especially wealthy people, is the fact that there is no income tax. The wealthy people attract banks so most of the countries income comes from the financial sector. Contrary to popular belief, only a small portion of the country’s income is from the casinos and tourism. There are also some different laws in Monaco. For example, the citizens of Monaco are GUARANTEED a job as adults. The citizens are also not allowed to gamble or even go in the casinos. Apparently the royals recognize that gambling is normally just throwing your money away.

We had a really unique experience of being able to stay in a rectory (where priests live) while we were here. Father Zobler (who married us) got us in touch with Father Marc who was such a wonderful host! We had several meals and great conversations with him during our stay and is definitely something we will always remember. I mean, how many people can say they stayed in Monaco, let alone in a rectory?!

Here are some of our favorite things and top recommendations for Monaco:

1. Have dinner/drinks on the Monaco Grand Prix racetrack. We decided on a place called McBuns with happy hour until 8pm, but there are many different restaurants to chose between. You could go to a traditional French place like Cafe de Artiste, which was recommended to us if you want to spend some extra money to treat yourself. Or keep it cheaper and go to a burger place with happy hour like we did. Either way, it’s really neat being out on the track with all the expensive cars and motorcycles racing by.

2. Go to the outdoor markets. There were fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, and flower stands set up all over during the days. The farmers bring in fresh produce almost daily. Do like the locals do and grab a baguette from the bakery and pick up some ham, cheese, and fruit to make your own picnic.

3. Do a tour of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco on top of the hill. Touring the palace is very reasonably priced and comes with audio which was really interesting to learn about the history of Monaco and the royal family. We didn’t realize that the American actress, Grace Kelly, married the Price of Monaco and became the Princess before her tragic death in 1982 after a car accident in the cliffs of Monaco. There is also an amazing view from the top of this hill.

4. Soak up some rays at Larvotto Beach. There are also some beautiful outdoor restaurants if you want to grab lunch or drinks while at the beach.

5. Gamble at the Monte Carlos Casino. Even though the area of the Monte Carlos casino where we were allowed was pretty unimpressive, it was still neat to check out. Apparently to get into the area that makes Monte Carlos casino famous you must have some proof of how much money you have in your bank account. Right next door there is the Casino de Paris which has many more slots and gambling for our budget.

6. Walk through the marina and check out the impressive yachts. I have never seen personal yachts as big as what I have witnessed in Europe. And yachts in Monaco were even more impressive. Some of these PERSONAL yachts have up to 70 crew members/wait staff and are worth up to $150,000,000. I guess living in Monaco and a avoiding paying income tax is really helping out. Truly unbelievable.

Hopefully we will be able to visit the French Riviera again, but there are so many places we still want to see. Heading to Switzerland to spend some time in Geneva, Bern, Zurich! Let us know if you have any recommendations.