Monaco, the second smallest country in the world. A tiny and tremendous place that is very tempting to visit if you are in Nice.
From Nice you can take the train or bus to Monaco. Of course, if you have the money, you can get there by helicopter as well. Sadly, this was not in our budget (yet).
We took the train from Nice to Monaco to save some time because we had only three nights in Nice and therefore under a day in Monaco.
So what is my impression of Monaco? Walking around there I could almost smell the luxury and the money. All the boats were big and pompous, the people dressed up and cars were expensive. In fact, it was very common to see people taking photos of the cars that casually drove by.
I also got dragged to the Monaco Top Cars Collections. Nikolai was more excited about the cars than me but I still enjoyed the air con and walking around looking at the cars.
Nikolai said that he got flashbacks from playing Gran Turismo.
Now let us not forget the casinos. Monaco, or the Principality of Monaco, is a so called city-state and it is mostly famous for its casinos and as a country that is income tax free (for the people living in and get their income there).
Fun fact: Monaco’s flag is almost identical to Indonesia’s flag (upper part red and white below) – the difference is the size of the flag.
I do wonder what it is like to be born in Monaco… I mean, they say that it is like winning the lottery to be born in Finland. But would it not be funnier to say this for the Monegasque? Given that the locals cannot gamble this might be because they do not need to since they are born in Monaco and that is like winning already?
All jokes, and the fact that I do not know what it is like to be born and raised in Monaco, aside, I still feel like this small city-state with its around 30 000 inhabitants is intriguing. It might be just because of the luxury, the fact that many James Bond movies have been shot there or just because it is so beautiful with its winding streets and great views of the sea.
Do YOU know anything interesting about Monaco? Let me know by leaving a comment!