The Fontvieille Shopping Centre is also a more ’normal’ shopping experience with 36 shops selling electronic goods, CDs, furniture, and clothes as well as a Carrefour supermarket. The tourist office also issue a useful free shopping guide to the city.
Monte Carlo is also famous for it’s quite exclusive shopping and is certainly no place for a budget holiday. There are plenty of places to melt the credit card alongside Europe’s high rollers.
The chic clothes shops are in the ’Golden Circle’, framed by Avenue Monte Carlo, Avenue des Beaux-Arts and Allees Lumieres, where Hermes, Christian Dior, Gucci and Prada all have a presence.
The area on and around Place du Casino is home to high-end jewellers such as Bulgari, Cartier and Chopard. You will find, however. that most tourists will simply enjoy wandering the area and window shopping, even if you don’t buy anything. The normal shopping hours are from 9:00 to noon and 3:00 to 7:00 pm.
Must do!
An absolute ’must-do’ for new or old visitors alike is a walk along the coastal Sa Avenue int-Martin, feauturing some beautiful cliff-side gardens. On this road is the Monaco Cathedral, which was built in the late 19th century, and was where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier married. It is also where Grace and many of the other Grimaldis are buried.
The Palais du Prince (Prince’s Palace) is located in old Monaco-Ville and is also a must see. The changing of the guard takes place daily at 11:55 am, so you might want to time your visit for then. There are guided tours of the palace each day and usually run around the clock. While you are there, be sure to take time to walk over and look at the harbors on either side of the palace – the view is marvelous!
The Casino!
If your wallet permits it, try your luck in the Grand Casino and gamble alongside the world’s richest and often most famous. You’ll need your passport to enter, and the fees for entry range enormously depending on what room you are going to – often from 30€ right up into the hundreds The dress code inside is extremely strict – men are required to wear coats and ties, and casual or ’tennis’ shoes are forbidden.
The gaming rooms themselves are spectacular, with stained glass, paintings, and sculptures everywhere. There are two other more Americanized casinos in Monte Carlo. Neither of these has an admission fee, and the dress code is more casual.
About the Grand Prix!
Another activity you might want to try is a visit to the Grand Prix course – it is often possible to find an exclusive company at the marina-side that will let you take a trip round the famous steep climbs and hairpin corners of the Monaco course in a performance vehicle – often a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, however, this is costly.
How to spend your time!
However, if you tire of the lavish lifestyle and show-off supercars (which won’t happen quickly!) there are plenty of other ways to spend your time in Monte Carlo. The Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium on Avenue Saint-Martin is a world-reknowned attraction.
The opera house also known as the “Salle Garnier” was built by the famous architect Charles Garnier. The auditorium of the opera house is decorated in red and gold and has frescoes and sculptures all around the auditorium. Looking up to the ceiling of the auditorium, the visitor will be blown away by the superb paintings.
The opera house is flamboyant but at the same time very beautiful. There have been some of the most superior international performances of ballet, opera and concerts held in the opera house for more than a century.