Monte Carlo Casino

11 June 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  10 minutes

© flickr.com - Laura Caillebot/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Laura Caillebot/cc-by-2.0

The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.   read more…

Mediterranean Region

29 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, European Union, Living, Working, Building, Sport, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  28 minutes

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin, also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.   read more…

Oceanographic Museum of Monaco

13 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, Museums, Exhibitions, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  7 minutes

Central room © Spike/cc-by-sa-4.0

Central room © Spike/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Oceanographic Museum (Musée océanographique) is a museum of marine sciences in Monaco-Ville, Monaco. This building is part of the Institut océanographique, which is committed to sharing its knowledge of the oceans.   read more…

Opéra de Monte-Carlo

5 February 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  9 minutes

Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier © panoramio.com - leineart/cc-by-sa-3.0

Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier © panoramio.com – leineart/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des bains de mer, decided to include a concert hall as part of the casino. The main public entrance to the hall was from the casino, while Charles III’s private entrance was on the western side. It opened in 1879 and became known as the Salle Garnier, after the architect Charles Garnier, who designed it. During the renovation of the Salle Garnier in 2004–05, the company presented operas at the Salle des Princes in the local Grimaldi Forum, a modern conference and performance facility where Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra regularly perform.   read more…

The Artania

1 January 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

in Bremerhaven © Tvabutzku1234

in Bremerhaven © Tvabutzku1234

MV Artania (previously Royal Princess and Artemis) is a cruise ship chartered since 2011 by Phoenix Reisen, a German-based travel agency and cruise ship operator. She was built for Princess Cruises by Wärtsilä at the Helsinki Shipyard, Finland, and was launched on 18 February 1984. At a ceremony in Southampton, England, on 15 November 1984, the ship was named Royal Princess by Diana, Princess of Wales. After entering service on 19 November 1984, she cruised as Royal Princess until April 2005, when she was transferred to the control of P&O Cruises, and was renamed Artemis. In 2011, she moved to Phoenix Reisen’s fleet and was renamed Artania.   read more…

Theme Week Monaco – Monte Carlo

31 December 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  6 minutes

Monte Carlo and Port Hercule © Martinp1/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monte Carlo and Port Hercule © Martinp1/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monte Carlo officially refers to an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter (corresponding to the former municipality of Monte Carlo), which besides Monte Carlo also includes the wards of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins, and Saint Michel. The permanent population of the ward of Monte Carlo is about 3,500, while that of the quarter is about 15,000. Monaco has four traditional quarters. From west to east they are: Fontvieille (the newest), Monaco-Ville (the oldest), La Condamine, and Monte Carlo.   read more…

Theme Week Monaco – Fontvieille

30 December 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  6 minutes

Port of Fontvieille © Georges Jansoone/cc-by-3.0

Port of Fontvieille © Georges Jansoone/cc-by-3.0

Fontvieille is the southernmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It was developed by an Italian architect, Manfredi Nicoletti, between the 1970s and the 1990s. In contrast to the other city districts Monaco-Ville, Monte Carlo and La Condamine, Fontvieille was constructed, after Italian engineer Gianfranco Gilardini’s design, almost entirely on artificially reclaimed land and thus represents one of the younger parts of the principality. In order to combat the chronic land shortage in the extremely densely populated principality, the work was begun in 1966 to create new land in the Mediterranean Sea southwest of le rocher. In 1981, the then Crown Prince Albert (since April 6, 2005 Albert II, Prince of Monaco) laid the cornerstone for the new city quarter. The existence of Fontvieille, and its many public works projects, relates substantially to former Prince of Monaco, Prince Rainier III‘s reputation as the Builder Prince.   read more…

Theme Week Monaco – Larvotto

29 December 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  4 minutes

Larvotto Beach © V&A Dudush/cc-by-3.0

Larvotto Beach © V&A Dudush/cc-by-3.0

Larvotto is the easternmost Ward in the Principality of Monaco. Larvotto is southeast of Monte Carlo and La Rousse. It borders Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, to the northeast.   read more…

Theme Week Monaco – Monaco City

28 December 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  6 minutes

Monaco City © Antonu/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monaco City © Antonu/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monaco City (French: Monaco-Ville) is the southcentral Ward in the Principality of Monaco. Located on a headland that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco City is nicknamed The Rock (French: Le Rocher). The name “Monaco City” is misleading, Monaco City is a historical and statistical district, not a city. Monaco City is one of the four traditional quarters (French: quartiers) of Monaco, the others are La Condamine, Monte Carlo, and Fontvieille.   read more…

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