MONACO
Actually, we would like to take the ferry to Sardinia. From the port city of Genoa, Monaco is a day trip away – of course we make this little detour. Two hours of highway driving over bridges and through tunnels along the Riviera of Flowers, across the French border and into Monaco.
Our expectations: rather low. A few superlative yachts. Men wearing polo shirts and extravagantly dressed women with luxury handbags and small dog inside. The roar of sports cars in the urban canyons. Service staff in convenient suits. Stores like those sprouting up all over the world. In short, we expect a boring, luxury-pampered city like those copied in almost every country.
To say it in advance: Unfortunately, we see our expectations confirmed as soon as we enter Monaco. We wind our way down a winding road into the city. Our navigation app is overwhelmed: Roads and streets run through tunnels and bridges on top of each other in several levels, traffic circles and traffic lights have simply been laid underground. The mini-state has the highest population density of all countries – space is a precious commodity here.
What’s more, it’s Monday. THE Monday after the day of the big Formula 1 race in Monaco. Grandstands and barriers are just being dismantled. We can’t get any further on foot than we can by car: many roads are impassable and awkward detours have to be taken.
The only consolation are accurately laid out strips of flowers along the way and thin palm trees along the waterfront.
The way to the port seems to be blocked by a huge shopping mall carved into the rock. Via side alleys, escalators and in elevators, through stores and along multi-lane streets, we finally reach our destination. We squeeze our son’s stroller through a construction fence, carry it over another narrow passage with the help of passersby, and stand on the Mediterranean Sea. Yachts as big as blocks of houses glide lazily into the harbor. Somewhere a champagne bottle is being popped, somewhere gold jewelry sparkles in the afternoon sun.
While we look out to sea, the workmen’s impact wrenches are roaring. They are dismantling one of the spectator stands at the harbor. Trucks push past us – we have to change places. Another detour to the casino in Monte Carlo? The route suggested by Google leads along a highway and then – a barrier. No progress. We make our way home. We haven’t seen much of Monaco, but it’s enough to know that we’d rather leave this kind of concrete male fantasy to people who can only realize their dreams with money.
We leave the city the same way we came. One more quick panorama in the afternoon sun, then we head back to Genoa.
Why is it always the same, we ask ourselves. Why does this huge accumulation of money lead to nothing meaningful? Why the same gray concrete deserts? Cities for cars, not for people. Ten-lane highways, mountains of garbage, exhaust fumes, air-conditioned interiors. Steps instead of ramps. Car bridges instead of bicycle paths.
We fantasize about green towers and jungle-like pedestrian zones. Small e-buses running noise- and emission-free along a few, fixed routes. The rest of the city: car-free. The roofs of the houses produce electricity through solar energy, a wave power plant off the coast uses the energy of the water, wind turbines on the hills of the city use that of the wind. Waste is generated only in small quantities, because sophisticated production and logistics concepts reduce waste, as does a consistent circular economy. A green, self-sufficient city that gives more than it takes.
Yes, that would require some money. But it seems there is enough of it.
Info about our trip
Monaco can be easily explored on foot in one day. Those who want to explore the country more intensively will certainly find a program for two or three days. However, most tourists are drawn here because they are interested in motor sports or because they would like to take a look at oligarch yachts. Also some celebrities are said to hang around here …
Unfortunately, we can not give real tips for Monaco, because our time there was short and many parts of the city were not accessible due to the Formula 1 race the day before.
Exploring the city costs nothing. Otherwise, the prices are slightly above the German level. So a visit to the café should definitely be possible.
Our attempt to go to a café for coffee and cake ended with being ignored by the waitress several times, so that we left the café hungry after some time. Maybe we looked too much like a “tourist” and the waitress realized right away that there was no huge tip to be collected from us. However, we have nothing more to contribute to the topic of “eating in Monaco”.
Since we visited Monaco only on a day trip, we did not spend the night there. You can probably find a cheaper place to stay in the French countryside than in Monaco itself.
Monaco is one of the safest countries in the world (what else, when millionaires are among themselves …).
Barrier-free and stroller-friendly Monaco is definitely not – too many mountains, stairs, streets and lack of pedestrian paths. Otherwise, we have had neither bad nor good experiences.
Driving in Monaco is definitely not fun.The streets are narrow and the traffic is heavy in places. If you are traveling with a normal car, you should have no problems finding a parking space. We were with roof tent in Monaco and for vehicles with over height (so about over 2.1m height) is actually only a parking garage available (there is probably an outdoor parking deck somewhere in the city, but we can not provide more information). When we were in Monaco, it was not yet listed in Google Maps, but now you can find it under the name Parking for Campers Les Ecoles.
In the city itself, you should be able to get from A to B on foot (apart from some “obstacles”) – places like the Jardin Exotique are located in the hills on the outskirts of the city, which are better reached by bus or cab.