Skylines of Monaco

It is hard to choose what pictures should be included in the skyline section, because their are skyline views of highrises and mountains almost everywhere in Monaco. Monaco doesn't have any really tall skyscrapers, but highrises tall enough (20-40 floors) to make a skyline, so it is definately the most impressive skyline on the Riviera. Because the city is built on mountains and rocks, the stunning nature makes the skyline look really good, even if the highrise's architecture themselves are mostly ugly. Monaco is one of the few cities that are built vertically. That means that stairs, elevators and escalators are as common as pavements and crosswalks to get between to roads. And becaue or that
it also has many tall highrises/small skyscrapers for its size. There are
11 buildings with 25 floors or more, of those 6 have with between 30 and 37 floors.

The skyline of Larvotto in the east from Avenue Princesse.

Monaco skyline. Seen from the east on a train heading for San Remo, Italy.

Monaco Ville, the "capital" part of Monaco.

View of the highrises and mountains of La Condamine. Behind the mountain is France.

Entering Monaco from the west.

Le Larvotto and part of Monte Carlo seen from the road under Fairmont Hotel. At the mountains in the back is Italy and between is France. The towers to the left are Parc Saint-Roman from 1982 (the tallest is 108m).

Parc Saint-Roman

The white building to the righ e is Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort.

Monte Carlo from Port Hercule.

Highrises of La Condamine at Port Hercule.

Monaco is built upwards, it´s like
a vertical city. Some residences built in the mountains and has a road above the
roof. When you look down there is another road.

View from the Japanese garden to the East.

Skyline of Monte Carlo and Larvotto.

Le Millefiori, the tallest building in Monte Carlo together with anoterh skyscraper (both are 111m tall).

View from the casino towards Café de Paris and the town Beausoleil in France.

The west part of Monaco.

Monte Carlo

The most famous part of Monaco, that gave name to the famous Monte Carlo rally. Monte Carlo is home to the casino, where the incomes to the state comes from, and is the city center. Monte Carlo is a very rich and wealthy place and at few places you can see as many Ferraris as here. Monte Carlo is also where the famous Monaco Grand Prix takes place. Monte Carlo is located at the foot of the Maritime Alps.

Casino Monte Carlo. Because the incomes to the state comes from this casino, the citizens of Monaco don't have to pay tax. I was surprised that we were allowed to go inside for a short time.

Note the reflecting mirror at the casino.

Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Porsches can be seen at Place du Casino...

...and of course Ferraris!

To the left is Café de Paris, a place where I took a drink a few years back.

Place du Casino. To the right is Hôtel de Paris.

Brand stores at Place du Casino.

Hermitage, a 5 star hotel at Place du Casino.

View towards the misty mountains from Jardin du Casino.

From street level it is possible to take the elevator up to Boulevard des Moulins.

Boulevard des Moulins is one of the most exclusive streets of Monte-Carlo.

St Charles is a beautiful church at Boulevard des Moulins. The strange statue in the front is of Cardinal Seduto.

Stairs leading down from Boulevard des Moulins.

A modern pink building at the boulevard.

Le Millefiori can be seen in the background.

Avenue Saint-Laurent.

At this place next to Jardin du Casino you can drive a red Ferrari Modena 80 euro (40 euro for being a co-driver) along the road that are used during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Jardins du Casino.

Jardin du Casino is a very beautiful park with many palms. It is divided into 2 parts.

The 37-storey Le Millefiori, one of Monaco's 2 tallest buildings (both 111m), seen from Jardin du Casino.

Barclays Bank.

The road that is used by Formel 1 cars during the Monaco Grand Prix goes right through the hotel Fairmont Monte Carlo (formerly Loews).

 

Many Ferraris can be seen in Monaco, especially in Monte Carlo.

Ferrari in Monaco is almost as common as Volvo in Sweden!

The white building to the right is Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort.

Monte Carlo from Port Hercule.

View from the Japanese garden to the East.

Skyline of Larvotto, that counts as a part of Monte Carlo.

Le Millefiori, the tallest building in Monte Carlo together with anoterh skyscraper (both are 111m tall). It was in 1969.

View from the casino towards Café de Paris and the town Beausoleil in France.

The Japanese Gardens, right next to the shore.

The Japanese Gardens has a lake, islands, a tea pavilion, a stone fountain and more.

The Japanese Garden is really beautiful and impressive with the stunning mountains of Monaco as a backdrop. However it is the only Japanese garden I have visited so far.

The Japanese Garden of Monaco was designed at the request of Prince Rainier from a request princess Grace had during her lifetime. The garden was designed by the landscape architect Yasuo Beppu and opened in 1994.

Columbia Palace is the twin towers 105m from 1985. L'Annonciade, 111m can be seen in the middle.

Monaco Grimaldi Forum, a conference center for business and cultural events next to the Japanese Garden, has an exciting -ultramodern but yet mystic- architecture.

Grimaldi Forum was built in 2000 by the Grimaldi family, rulers of Monaco. At this moment it hosts an exhibition about the queens of Egypt.

Monaco Ville

Monaco Ville, the oldest part of Monaco, was during the time as different municipalities (until 1954), the capital of Monaco. It is here the Royal Palace lies. Monaco Hill is situated on a rock, opposite Monte Carlo from the East, with Port Hercules between, and opposite Fontvieville from the West, with Port Fontivieville between. I have visited this part in 2001 only, because in 2002 and 2008 I didn't have time because of train schedules. Thus there are only old photos and photos from afar of Monaco Ville.

Some of the city walls of Monaco Ville still remain.

Palais Princier, the Prince´s Palace in Monaco Ville. The house of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297 and is the oldest ruiling house in Europe. There is a daily changing of the guards outside the palace.

Prince Albert II is the current sovereign. He has recently taken over from Prince Rainier III. Despite the casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco Ville is the capital of "tax haven".

Monaco Ville from Port Hercules. There is also a cathedral next to the palace, where Grace Kelly is buried. It cannot be seen in the pictures though.

La Condamine

La Condamine is the ward (district), right above Port Hercules, the harbour where the largest yacths are. It is the second oldest part of Monaco.

Entering Monaco from the west (the highway from Nice).

 

In La Condamine you can really see that Monaco is a vertical country.

Gare de Monaco. The modern central station, that opened in 2001. It consists of four floors of glass, built
inside a rock. After arriving by train , you can take the elevator
down to get to street level. But there are both trafficated streets above the
station and below, at sea level. The Church of St Devote of Monaco from 1870 stands in front as a big contrast
to the new station.

From Monaco's railway station you can reach many towns in Italy and France within minutes.

Unfortunately the train goes through a long tunnel before leaving Monaco.

The car monument, recalling that Monaco "the city of sport cars".

Port Hercules

In Port Hercules, Monaco's large harbour in La Condamine, there are many large yacths. The yacht belonging to the prince of Monaco can sometimes be seen.

La Condamine seen from Port Hercules.

Views from Boulevard du Moulins to Port Hercules and La Condamine: