Monaco

[MARCOPOLOSMITH]

Can anyone recommend a tour guide offering day excursions from Monaco?

[CintiPam]

Can anyone recommend a tour guide offering day excursions from Monaco?

 

We toured last month with the outstanding licensed guide, Sylvie Di Christo, arranged by fellow roll call members who had used her services previously. This knowledgeable lady provided the most thorough and professional private tour I ever have taken, tailored for your interests. (We visited Monaco, Nice, St. Paul de Vence and more.)

 

Her email is Sylvie.di.cristo@wanadoo.fr.

[MARCOPOLOSMITH]

Thanks for the lead Cinti!

[DrFUN]

We toured last month with the outstanding licensed guide, Sylvie Di Christo, arranged by fellow roll call members who had used her services previously. This knowledgeable lady provided the most thorough and professional private tour I ever have taken, tailored for your interests. (We visited Monaco, Nice, St. Paul de Vence and more.)

 

Her email is Sylvie.di.cristo@wanadoo.fr.

 

I heartily second the endorsement of Sylvie, who is absolutely fabulous! I booked her well in advance for 6 of us (my husband and me and two other couples from our roll call) this June. All of us agreed she was outstanding. She was also great about connecting with me via email to discuss the specific venues we wanted (Nice, Eze, perfume showroom, Monte Carlo)--and in Nice she arranged a terrific and low-cost restaurant lunch at which we invited her to be our guest. It was my husband's birthday, and she even brought him a lovely bottle of French wine. :)

[MSPCUBS]

Was in Monoco in Sept. We did the port on our own. The ship docks close enough to the old town. You can walk to the palace and surrounding area. We took a local bus to the casino.

[Terence81]

Is Monaco worth spending the entire time in? Or should we take the bus or train into Nice or Cannes? I read it's only 30 mins by bus, so it sounds doable to get both in.

 

Anyone have experience with the train and/or bus?

[CintiPam]

Is Monaco worth spending the entire time in? Or should we take the bus or train into Nice or Cannes? I read it's only 30 mins by bus, so it sounds doable to get both in.

 

Anyone have experience with the train and/or bus?

 

Well, I have to trot out the usual statement/old saw that it really depends upon your interests. I had zero interest in visiting the casino or touring the "nothing special" palace or visiting Princess Grace's final resting place, but I really wanted to see some of the natural beauty of the area from at least one of the three Corniches. I also wanted to visit the Chagall Museum in Nice.

 

I cannot share train or bus experiences because we shared a private tour. It is my understanding that the train is great for visiting the cities/towns along the Med and that the buses are great for getting to the towns up in the hills, such as Eze or St. Paul de Vence.

[Ship's Wake]

Is Monaco worth spending the entire time in? Or should we take the bus or train into Nice or Cannes? I read it's only 30 mins by bus, so it sounds doable to get both in.

 

Anyone have experience with the train and/or bus?

 

Take the bus, for a couple of reasons.

 

1) the bus drives along the lower corniche road, giving you excellent views of the Mediterranean coast the whole way.

 

2) the bus station were you get off/board the bus in Nice is right next to the old town and a very short walk to the sea, while the train station is located further away.

 

You can buy your bus tickets directly from the driver.

 

If you have a chance, buy/borrow/or go to your favorite bookstore and look at the Rick Steves Provence guidebook. He provides excellent information on bus route 100 that runs along the coast.

 

http://www.rca.tm.fr/horaires/index.asp?thm_id=259&lign_id=41

 

If you decide to take the bus, print out the schedule in the above link so that you'll know the timetable and which stop you want.

 

Joe

[dutchclogs]

Can anyone recommend a tour guide offering day excursions from Monaco?

 

I can highly recommend Dream-Tours. Our guide Frédéric (Fred) was great!

[BiggiB]

Is Monaco worth spending the entire time in? Or should we take the bus or train into Nice or Cannes? I read it's only 30 mins by bus, so it sounds doable to get both in.

 

Anyone have experience with the train and/or bus?

 

 

Bonjour, Terence81

 

As a long time resident in Monaco, I sometimes wonder why cruise passengers want to see 2, 3 or even 4 villages in a "short" day in port. All of those places mentioned in the various blogs, are worth a full-day-visit in their own right. And Monaco can keep you busy for a long weekend --- or for more than 20 years, like me.

 

The Monaco tourism office website http://www.visitmontecarlo.com gives you a good overview of the attraction. Some of them I want to point out to you, which might not be on a "regular" port visit (as are the palace, the cathedral or the casinos).

 

If you are interested in gardens, you can spend a full day to shuttle from one to the next. Starting with the famous Exotique Garden with a huge collection of cactees and succulents, but no go for anyone with walking problems. Then try the Casino gardens (Jardin Afrique and the Casino terraces for the view). The Japanese Garden is situated at the waterfront and easy to reach by bus n°6.

The Princess Grace Rose Garden is in the Fontvieille part of town (also bus n° 6, but in the opposite direction) and adjacent to it is a nice promenade along the smaller yacht port of Fontvieille.

Last but not least, the Jardin St. Martin comes down the castle hill all the way from the castle towards the cruise ship pier - wonderful landscaped gardens and spectacular views..

 

If the Oceanographic Museum is not of interest to you, what a about the museum of dolls and automatons? Or the Collection of Automobiles, belonging to the Prince and with 115 cars and carriages on display. Sailors love the Marine Museum, featuring modell ships of all sizes. If you are in the banking business, maybe the Museum of Coins and stamps might interest you. Did you know, that Monaco has its own currency (despite we are using the Euro, as anyone else), and a world reknown collection of stamps, which can only be sent from Monaco.

The new NMNM (National Museum of Monaco) does exhibit modern art in both resident collections and periodical exhibitions. Worth a visit.

 

If you like sculptures, why don't you walk along the "Sculpture Trail", running crisscross through all of the Principality. The late Prince Rainier III was an avid collector of the finest modern sculptures and almost every little square or green space is adorned with an interesting piece. It is exiting to discover the most curios things along the way. A brochure which indicates the route can be obtained at the cruise ship pier information stand or at the Office du Tourisme.

 

While in the Old Town, discover the Chocolate factory with delicious home-made pralinés, chocolate bars or nougats. It is situated opposite the city bus stop. Also in the Old Town, there is a tiny parfum factory / shop, called L'Alchimystèrie, where you can make astonishing and well-scented finds. Also interesting for (window) shopping is the Boulevard de Moulins.

At "Fashion for floors" you find an extraordinary exhibition of modern "carpets", designed by a young man, who lives in Monaco, too.

 

An aerial view of Monaco and its surroundings is provided by Heli Air Monaco, where you can book flights of various durations (starting from 10 minutes up to 40 minutes). You can go to the Heliport without prior reservation, too, if you want. A party of up to 5 can share a helicopter and rates are reasonable. If you reserve in advance, they pick you up from the cruise pier, too, without charge. You can request a quotation under claudiab@heliairvoyages.mc.

 

On the culinary side, you can book brewery classes in Monaco's own state-of-the-art, doll-size brewery, which is situated in port. La Brasserie de Monaco takes up to either 3 or 5 guests only for those classes, and they are reasonably priced as well. Reservation ahead is recommended.

 

Cooking classes are also an idea for a small group, lasting around 2-3 hours and given by some of the best chefs in the world. Reservation in advance is necessary.

 

For those guests in need of a nice, long walk without climbing mountains or walking across cobble-stone paved streets, I highly recommend the coastal pedestrian route starting at the border between Monaco and Cap d'Ail - an easy walk, always spectacular views along the rocky shores and nice resting places along the way. Most interesting: The collection of beautiful turn-of-the-centuries villas, visible only from the seaside!

You take bus n°6 to Stade Louis II. Either you walk back the same way, or take the train from Cap d'Ail (1 station) back to Monaco. this is easier, since the train station is close to the water front, rather than the bus, for which you have to "climb" uphill quite a bit. Very informativ is the website http://www.cap-dail.fr. with a detailed description of the hiking route as well as the villas.

 

Last, but not least, there is almost every week some kind of special event in town, e.g. exhibitions, sport events, musical performances at daytime (either as matinée in the morning, or as "children's performance" in the afternoon, which last approx. 1 to 1 1/2 hours, just enough for a quick classical touch of your stay.

 

I should write a guide book :D about Monaco, there is so much to see and to do.

One of the best suggestions has also already been pointed out: Enjoy the French Savoir Vivre, just sit in a roadside café, sip a drink, watch people, watch the cars, listen to the many languages spoken around you, enjoy the sunshine ... just take it easy. That is the nicest thing about living in the South of Europe.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise and an interesting stay in the Principality of Monaco!

Regards, BiggiB

[seafare]

Very helpfull information, thank you for taking the time to post. We are looking forward to following some of your suggestions on our port stop in Nov.

 

Jill

[patrickmoran]

BiggiB,

We dock in VF and plan to take the bus over to Monaco and tour. We are then thinking of taking the bus to Eze. Where would we catch the bus? Is there a bus station in Monaco? Thanks

[PenelopeCorelli]

BiggiB,

We dock in VF and plan to take the bus over to Monaco and tour. We are then thinking of taking the bus to Eze. Where would we catch the bus? Is there a bus station in Monaco? Thanks

 

OOPS Patrick. You're starting from VF; we docked in MC (Read my post backward.;-)

 

The bus stop is up the hill, as is everything in Monaco.;) We first walked too far, then asked directions & found the stop for bus #112. The air conditioned bus :pmakes a regular route to Eze & NIce. We took the bus to Eze, to Nice (very hectic but a good shopping stop), and caught the #100 bus to Villefranche - restful after Nice (walked along Rue Obscure). We took the train back from Villefranche (the machine for tickets only takes coins and credit cards, & our CCs didn't work; we found a worker to help us get on the train and pay for the ticket onboard.) We were 10 minutes late for the last bateau bus from Monte Carlo to the port area (7:45pm), so we had to walk all the way around the harbor to the tender area. Our port hours were 1pm to 11pm. It was a tender port, because other ships were docked that day. St. Paul de Vence was not doable on our own for that time, because the bus goes there from Nice, and it's irregular. I think the draw of these towns is the shops and picturesque little streets.

 

I enjoyed reading the Monaco ideas. Yes, BiggiB, you definitely should write a book, or have a Monaco website with ideas & recommendations. I may copy this off for future cruises, in case we stop that way again. Monaco needs a cheerleader who has all the information. :)

[Terence81]

Bonjour, Terence81

 

I should write a guide book :D about Monaco, there is so much to see and to do.

One of the best suggestions has also already been pointed out: Enjoy the French Savoir Vivre, just sit in a roadside café, sip a drink, watch people, watch the cars, listen to the many languages spoken around you, enjoy the sunshine ... just take it easy. That is the nicest thing about living in the South of Europe.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise and an interesting stay in the Principality of Monaco!

Regards, BiggiB

 

BiggiB - Thanks for your comments!! We were nearly set in taking the train into Nice but now we are reconsidering. You have provided some excellent ideas for me to look into further. Thanks again!

 

Any questions I have, I think I know who to ask!

 

Terence

[omc329]

BiggieB, I've been trying to discover what Monaco would be like on All Saints Day. I understand that is a holiday there and that many things may be closed. What sort of things would be open vs closed? This would be on a Monday, in 2010, not a Sunday. Would there be any specific traffic problems associated with the day? I already know the buses work on a different schedule. What about the Cathedral? Would it be open, or closed for special services? Any help would be appreciated.

[sheffer]

BiggiB, Thanks for your informative overview. We will be in Monaco on May 20, 2010, the practice day for the Grand Prix. We were planning on taking bus #112 to Eze for part of the day. Will this be a problem? Our ship is docked in Monte Carlo until 10PM that night, so we plan to enjoy Monaco at night. Our big concern is how the Grand Prix will impact our getting around. We would appreciate your insight.

[BiggiB]

Hello and bonjour, sheffer!

Saw your post from Sept 2 only today - sorry.

In the meantime, the Grand Prix 2010 was re-scheduled and takes place on May 16, 2010. Lucky you. By May 20, all public transport should be back to normal and there's no problem to go anywhere.

Monaco's port area will look awful with all the grand stands to be taken down that week and the weeks to follow. Museums will close mainly at 6 p.m., so if you want to have a look at one of them, be back from your excursion in time.

Monaco's night life starts usually at 11 p.m., the Casinos are not really in full swing before either. Nice places to enjoy some drinks and music: The Wine Bar at Galerie Charless III, Moods lounge beneath Café de Paris, (live music starting at 9), Black Lounge Bar/Restaurant/Disco with music from the 80's (it is in port in walking distance to the ship) and La Brasserie a little further down same street as the B.L. with its own brewery and music in the evenings. Here's where most of the expats in town meet and you make contact easily.

Hope you still get those info. Enjoy your stay in Monaco !

[sheffer]

BiggiB - You are the man! Thank you for the good news. We are thrilled - enjoy the Grand Prix on the May 16th. We were looking for you on the boards. Merci, merci, merci.

[Weroff2rome]

Bonjour, Terence81

 

As a long time resident in Monaco, I sometimes wonder why cruise passengers want to see 2, 3 or even 4 villages in a "short" day in port. All of those places mentioned in the various blogs, are worth a full-day-visit in their own right. And Monaco can keep you busy for a long weekend --- or for more than 20 years, like me.

 

The Monaco tourism office website www.visitmontecarlo.com gives you a good overview of the attraction. Some of them I want to point out to you, which might not be on a "regular" port visit (as are the palace, the cathedral or the casinos).

 

If you are interested in gardens, you can spend a full day to shuttle from one to the next. Starting with the famous Exotique Garden with a huge collection of cactees and succulents, but no go for anyone with walking problems. Then try the Casino gardens (Jardin Afrique and the Casino terraces for the view). The Japanese Garden is situated at the waterfront and easy to reach by bus n°6.

The Princess Grace Rose Garden is in the Fontvieille part of town (also bus n° 6, but in the opposite direction) and adjacent to it is a nice promenade along the smaller yacht port of Fontvieille.

Last but not least, the Jardin St. Martin comes down the castle hill all the way from the castle towards the cruise ship pier - wonderful landscaped gardens and spectacular views..

 

If the Oceanographic Museum is not of interest to you, what a about the museum of dolls and automatons? Or the Collection of Automobiles, belonging to the Prince and with 115 cars and carriages on display. Sailors love the Marine Museum, featuring modell ships of all sizes. If you are in the banking business, maybe the Museum of Coins and stamps might interest you. Did you know, that Monaco has its own currency (despite we are using the Euro, as anyone else), and a world reknown collection of stamps, which can only be sent from Monaco.

The new NMNM (National Museum of Monaco) does exhibit modern art in both resident collections and periodical exhibitions. Worth a visit.

 

If you like sculptures, why don't you walk along the "Sculpture Trail", running crisscross through all of the Principality. The late Prince Rainier III was an avid collector of the finest modern sculptures and almost every little square or green space is adorned with an interesting piece. It is exiting to discover the most curios things along the way. A brochure which indicates the route can be obtained at the cruise ship pier information stand or at the Office du Tourisme.

 

While in the Old Town, discover the Chocolate factory with delicious home-made pralinés, chocolate bars or nougats. It is situated opposite the city bus stop. Also in the Old Town, there is a tiny parfum factory / shop, called L'Alchimystèrie, where you can make astonishing and well-scented finds. Also interesting for (window) shopping is the Boulevard de Moulins.

At "Fashion for floors" you find an extraordinary exhibition of modern "carpets", designed by a young man, who lives in Monaco, too.

 

An aerial view of Monaco and its surroundings is provided by Heli Air Monaco, where you can book flights of various durations (starting from 10 minutes up to 40 minutes). You can go to the Heliport without prior reservation, too, if you want. A party of up to 5 can share a helicopter and rates are reasonable. If you reserve in advance, they pick you up from the cruise pier, too, without charge. You can request a quotation under claudiab@heliairvoyages.mc.

 

On the culinary side, you can book brewery classes in Monaco's own state-of-the-art, doll-size brewery, which is situated in port. La Brasserie de Monaco takes up to either 3 or 5 guests only for those classes, and they are reasonably priced as well. Reservation ahead is recommended.

 

Cooking classes are also an idea for a small group, lasting around 2-3 hours and given by some of the best chefs in the world. Reservation in advance is necessary.

 

For those guests in need of a nice, long walk without climbing mountains or walking across cobble-stone paved streets, I highly recommend the coastal pedestrian route starting at the border between Monaco and Cap d'Ail - an easy walk, always spectacular views along the rocky shores and nice resting places along the way. Most interesting: The collection of beautiful turn-of-the-centuries villas, visible only from the seaside!

You take bus n°6 to Stade Louis II. Either you walk back the same way, or take the train from Cap d'Ail (1 station) back to Monaco. this is easier, since the train station is close to the water front, rather than the bus, for which you have to "climb" uphill quite a bit. Very informativ is the website www.cap-dail.fr. with a detailed description of the hiking route as well as the villas.

 

Last, but not least, there is almost every week some kind of special event in town, e.g. exhibitions, sport events, musical performances at daytime (either as matinée in the morning, or as "children's performance" in the afternoon, which last approx. 1 to 1 1/2 hours, just enough for a quick classical touch of your stay.

 

I should write a guide book :D about Monaco, there is so much to see and to do.

One of the best suggestions has also already been pointed out: Enjoy the French Savoir Vivre, just sit in a roadside café, sip a drink, watch people, watch the cars, listen to the many languages spoken around you, enjoy the sunshine ... just take it easy. That is the nicest thing about living in the South of Europe.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise and an interesting stay in the Principality of Monaco!

Regards, BiggiB

 

BiggiB we were in Monaco two years ago and loved the palace etc. been to Nice, Cannes and Eze and will be in Monaco again this summer. I think it would be such fun to take a brewery class but can't find a way to contact them to make reservations or to enquire do you have an email? Thanks for your help.

[BiggiB]

Hello and bonjour - have not seen your message before, since it's been a while that I had time to check on the message board.

I will check the brewery classes out for you in detail. Just let me know, what month you are planning to travel to Monaco and how many people would be interested.

Will get back to you soon.

Regards from the sunny shores of the Med!

[skyboy]

BiggiB, I also want to thank you for all your great information. I have been to your area a few times and have gone to a lot of the towns. This time I thought it would be fun to go up and down the coast in a boat. Is that a good idea and do you know of any companys that do that?

[Weroff2rome]

Hello and bonjour - have not seen your message before, since it's been a while that I had time to check on the message board.

I will check the brewery classes out for you in detail. Just let me know, what month you are planning to travel to Monaco and how many people would be interested.

Will get back to you soon.

Regards from the sunny shores of the Med!

 

while you were away I wrote the company. It seems a bit pricey even though it sounds like fun. I am going to keep it aside and see if I come up with anything else first. It runs 50 euros per person so that does add up. I heard somewhere I could get my son a lap with a grand prix driver for like 90 euros so that might be money better spend. As much as I think I would enjoy the class others would be bored to tears and the 17 year old can't drink yet - hmm maybe a cooking class?

[BiggiB]

BiggiB we were in Monaco two years ago and loved the palace etc. been to Nice, Cannes and Eze and will be in Monaco again this summer. I think it would be such fun to take a brewery class but can't find a way to contact them to make reservations or to enquire do you have an email? Thanks for your help.

 

Hello again ! Here are the information on the brewery in Monaco, as promised.

 

The place is called "La Brasserie de Monaco", is situated near the public swimmingpool in the port area, on the lower level of the Promenade.

As I learned today, the brewery classes will last between 5 and 6 hours, to watch the whole process of brewing beer. That might be a little long for guests arriving on a cruise ship:).

 

However, there's an alternative: They do an introduction to brewing, which lasts around 20 to 30 minutes. You will taste the 3 kinds of beer they brew on the premises, you get some local snacks with the beer, and the brew master will tour the fabrication place with you. It is small (as everything in Monaco) but with this beautiful, shiny copper brewing kettles ...or whatever they call it... and the beer taste good. The price is around € 50 for a small group, starting from 2 people, and you can share the expenses, but paying a minimum of €15 per person for a little larger groups. The maximum is 15 participants.

 

Reservation in advance is necessary. I attach the small leaflet with the contact information.

[BiggiB]

BiggiB, I also want to thank you for all your great information. I have been to your area a few times and have gone to a lot of the towns. This time I thought it would be fun to go up and down the coast in a boat. Is that a good idea and do you know of any companys that do that?

 

Hello Skyboy !

There's only one company who does the coastal cruises either from Nice and/or from Cannes. They are called TransCote d'Azur and you will find them on the internet. Trans Cote d'Azur runs large and comfortable excursion boats.

To leave from Monaco, it might be an idea to get some folks together and rent an offshorer with skipper for half a day or a full day, if you want to go further and maybe have lunch somewhere on the coast.

There's a yacht charter company I work with and they might be able to quote a smaller boat (there are Monte Carlo offshorers for 4, 6 and 8 passengers). Their website: http://www.mysealtd.com, ask for Jascha. Or check with Riva in Monaco directly.

If it doesn't work out with the boats, why not rent an electro scooter and drive along the coast or up the hillside behind Monaco with beautiful views. Take some picknick with you and enjoy the stunning scenery from up high.

Have a wonderful time at the Côte d'Azur !

[BiggiB]

while you were away I wrote the company. It seems a bit pricey even though it sounds like fun. I am going to keep it aside and see if I come up with anything else first. It runs 50 euros per person so that does add up. I heard somewhere I could get my son a lap with a grand prix driver for like 90 euros so that might be money better spend. As much as I think I would enjoy the class others would be bored to tears and the 17 year old can't drink yet - hmm maybe a cooking class?

 

Hello again! When I finished my reply to your first request, I found your above note:D ... should read more carefully.

Well, I have not heard of the above mentioned F-1-driving; there's a race track near St Tropez, which offers "taxi rides" with a two-seater race car prototype, but only at certain dates and not every day. To go there from here is about a 2 1/2 drive by car. These "inauguration to speed" starts at € 150 per person.

 

There is a restaurant in the port, called Stars 'n Bars, which does have race simulators, like oversized video games and you sit in a race car body. I don't know what they charge, but it wont be expensive.

 

Last year, we had a company giving taxi rides in a convertible Ferrari once around the city race course in Monaco (that was € 45 pp), but they had to close the company, because the cars where just too noisy to have them running all day. And there are still people living in the many highrise buildings in town :). So that is no option either.

 

How about renting electro scooters and drive along the coast to Menton or go up to the mountains above the city (as I just suggested to skyboy). This might be more fun for a 17-year-old than a cooking class. Those classes are offered in some of our top restaurants at about € 150 for two... but again, not every day.

 

If you are culturally interested, there's an exceptional exhibition at the Oceanographic Museum of 60 works of contemporary artist Damien Hirst. It is really incredible, strange, modern ... and the art works are extremely expensive. It opened on April 2 and will run through till the end of September. Combine the exhibition with a visit to the museum, which is absolutely interesting (scientific center, huge aquarium, and more).

 

What else might be fun for a 17-year-old? There are taxi rides with wave runners (you have to have a boat license to drive a jet ski yourself in France) from the sports center at the public beach as well as para-sailing and banana boat runs. Watersports a great in Monaco, too. No sand on the public beach of Larvotto, but fine gravel, and very clean water. There's a public swimming pier just on the other side of the cruise ship pier for a quick dip before you embark again... and still, the water is usually very clean.

 

Well, that is all I can think about now and I hope, my suggestions will give you an idea what is possible during your day in town.

Have an adventurous and interesting day in Monaco !