Monaco

Day trip to Monaco from Nice

The Principality of Monaco, on the French Riviera, is the place where the people with millions and billions mingle but the best thing about this little country is that the you absolutely do not need to be rich to visit, even broke backpackers can make the journey. Monaco can be easily ticked off as a day trip from Nice, South of France.

From Nice I took the bus100 for the low price of €1.50. The trip is stunningly scenic and around 45 minutes. You have the train option, quicker but without the scenery (read more on transportation here).

A bit of Information on Monaco

French-speaking with a population of approx. 37,000.
has an area of 1.95 km² making it the second smallest independent country in the world
Citizens pay no income tax.
Is ruled by a Prince (House of Grimaldi).
Home to the famous Monte Carlo Casino and the Monaco Grand Prix.
The country is very clean, compact and tries through various initiatives to be environmentally friendly. There are many interesting facts about this tiny country, check out Wikipedia and other sources.

Monte Carlo Casino

One of the most iconic symbols of Monaco is the Monte Carlo Casino. While it is portrayed as a casino for the rich and famous there is actually a small part in the building with cents machines for the average person like me with not much cash to spare.

However, to get into the actual building you need to dress elegantly casual at least (dress code) and then to enter the main area where the ‘big money’ card games are played requires an entrance fee with the remuneration of getting a genuine Monaco stamp in your passport. I didn’t enter this part…