Playground for the rich and famous you might say? I won’t be able to afford Monaco? Well people, you are wrong!! It’s not that you’ll be living there 🙂 I had the chance to go to Monaco on different occasions and none of those times ruined me. Monaco is a place that you can make as expensive and cheap as you would want… Of course if you are staying at ‘hotel de Paris’ or eat at Alain Ducasse, I’m sure your pocket will feel a lot lighter afterwards.  Follow my lead and I am sure you’ll enjoy Monaco in a normal, but still fancy way.

When you visit Monaco or Monte Carlo a few ‘must see’ attractions are obviously the place du casino and it’s casino (you won’t be able to enter in swimwear), the Royal Palace and if you like sea life I’m sure the oceanographic museum will be something for you.  The famous tunnel under the Fairmont Hotel where yearly the F1 takes brings you to the port. But did you know that Monte Carlo also has a normal beach? It is  not enormous, but big enough to fit some people. For car lovers, the Ferrari museum is a must. The limited edition beauties that you’ll find there are unique. A place where you can find your inner self Is the Japanese garden, right next to the Grimaldi forum, overlooking the Mediterranean sea (that would already be relaxing for me). Going the the open-air cinema (cinema d’été) next to the Oceanographic museum is also a thing that you should really do. Or maybe eating an ice cream in the Häagen-Dazs garden ice salon in front of  the casino sounds more appealing to you? A small anecdote to show that Monaco doesn’t always have to be expensive. Once I bought a special Ferrari toilet seat in Monaco,  as for the price I would pay in Belgium I could buy 3 in Monaco! (true story)

When going to Monaco you could of course stay in a close by city and just go to Monaco for a day, but you really have to try weekend night in Monaco in summertime. Two hotels that are nice and still reasonable of price are the Novotel and Hotel Ambassador (and good located right next to the underground train station). Check Booking.com for good prices. I’m sure once you’ve spend one or a few nights you’ll agree. The whole summer there is a fireworks contest between countries who send their very best firework specialists. In the weekends Monaco is really the place to be, you’ll see more fancy cars then you can dream of, you might also bump into a celebrity or two. In the weekend this Principality really comes to life.

But I’m starting to feel hungry, we didn’t eat yet. I don’t know if you have ever eaten a pizza with a Foi gras and asparagus toping? If you want to try this you should go to restaurant “Le Bambi”. Or maybe some “Gambas a la plancha” are more of your preference, in that case Le Baobab would be a nice choice. My first time in Monaco, I went to a very nice Italian restaurant in the street right in front of the Royal Palace, Il Pinocchio (lots of famous people love this restaurant). One of Prince Albert’s preferred restaurant is Sass Café, so who knows …  A friend of mine tried and enjoyed the “La villa” These restaurants are just a few of the places I’ve tried in Monaco. The three I’ve given are of a normal price range. “Sass” and “La Villa” might be a bit pricer, but still acceptable.  If would like more know more Monaco restaurants, don’t hesitate to ask or check the restaurants of monte carlo website.

Buon Viaggio!