Monaco-Ville and the Panorama

The original part of Monaco, known as Monaco-Ville, is situated on top of a hill overlooking the rest of the city. The walk to the top is not too bad, as there are some stairs, as well as many places to sit along the way for those who need the break. From the top, there are excellent views of the city and the harbor (though on this particular day there sky was filled with thin, dark, smoke-like clouds),

as well as the mountains that surround the city. The westernmost ward of the city-state, seen here, is called Fontvieille.

As soon as you reach the top of the hill, you arrive in a large square, which lies in front of the Prince's Palace. After the casino in Monte Carlo, this relatively new-looking palace is probably the next biggest attraction.

A guard stands watch over the palace. Unlike in Britain, these guards are allowed to move. They mostly just follow a pattern in their marching, but occasionally retreat into their post for some shade.

The palace and the square are a kind of gateway into the old town of Monaco-Ville, whose streets are old-fashioned and colorful.

You'd find that in the areas on the perimeter of Monaco, the architecture is like this, while at sea level, in the heart of the city, the architecture is definitely modern and industrial, as we saw in yesterday's post. In Monaco-Ville were many souvenir shops (which at this time were selling a lot of Tour de France merchandise), snack bars, and restaurants.

One of the highlights in Monaco-Ville was a really elegant chapel that I believe the Prince goes to.

The lighting, statues, and relics were - to put it shortly - beautiful. This style contrasts with the more grandiose large churches that are the more popular tourist destinations all across Europe. The churches and their architecture are awe-inspiring, but this chapel was more elegant, and (again) more beautiful.

Oh, I forgot to mention something yesterday. You may have heard of the Monaco Grand Prix, which is a Formula 1 race held in the streets of Monaco every year (the same streets that regular people drive on, not a racetrack!). The streets that makeup the circuit have those red and white stripes that you commonly see on these racing circuits, like over here on this really sharp turn.

Well, that's all I have to report from the small amount of time we spent roaming around the city before the race started. Tomorrow, scenes from Stage 1 of the Tour de France!