Among the peaks of the Riviera, the Mont des Mules enjoys a special place. Not because of its height: at 291 metres, it is little more than a pimple on the landscape. Its long and varied history reaches back into pre-Roman times and includes the episode when, in 1909, the municipality of Beausoleil (to which…
Here is one point that even the grumpiest visitor of Monaco must concede: the principality is not stingy with its wealth. It provides spotlessly clean and ultra-safe streets (with police officers at every other corner and a dense array of high-tech CCTV systems), while lifts and escalators help the tired huddled masses of visitors along…
Some people find it fashionable to sneer at Monaco. There is nothing categorically wrong about sneering, I enjoy the occasional sneer as much as anybody, but for people who are travelling to see the world, it is the most counterproductive attitude you can imagine. After all, travelling is all about discoveries: about finding new things…
Why Walk from Menton to Monaco? 1. You see a lot of stuff you don’t see from the bus From the bus, all you see is a blur. You get the general idea of the French Riviera: the sea, the sun (if there is any), the palm trees, but are you bound to miss all…
Hollywood and Monaco: at first glance, this appears to be a match made in heaven. There are probably no two places on earth that share the same combination of glamour and money – or the same type of cheerful, unapologetic vulgarity. Upon further review, however, you will realize how rarely this seemingly perfect match has…
Granted: not many famous writers have come from the Riviera. Writers, however, have always loved to travel to the southern coast of France, sometimes only to relax and to have fun, but sometimes also to work and – eventually – to write about it, in one form or the other. The list of visiting great…
Oman, Qatar and San Marino are, officially, the least green countries in the world. In these three states – and in the territory of Greenland (clearly a case for the Trades Descriptions Act) – forests make up exactly 0.0 % of the surface area: none of them have any woodlands at all. But what about…
With a trip to the Jardin Exotique, you always win Monaco mainly consists of concrete, and the few green spaces that you come across when exploring the streets of the principality all have an air of unrealness about them – as though the trees would all go up in a puff of smoke if you…
Walks in the South of France With our French Riviera Winter Walks – From Monaco to a celebrated coastal spot The stroll from Monaco to the near-by Mala Beach in Cap d’Ail is the classic family beach walk on the Riviera. It may not be as rugged and spectacular as some of the others trails…
The idea was to explore one of Central Europe’s largest urban parks, a park which is roughly the size of a small country (all right: the country I am thinking of is Monaco) and which also doubles up as the main exhibition space for the world’s most famous exhibition of contemporary art. The idea was…
