Travels in Space and Time: February 2012

COAST - Monaco

Monaco/Monte Carlo - Port

« Et pour pas payer d'impôts il faut naître à Monaco! »
And if you don’t want to pay taxes, you have to be born in Monaco, as the popular song says...
But the tiny principality on the French Riviera has a lot more to show for than just being a tax haven. Spectacular setting, great climate, fascinating history (one ruling family, the Grimaldi since the 13th century), and all sorts of attractions: Casino, Rally Monte Carlo, Oceanographic Museum, yachting, theatres, to name just a few. No surprise that it has become such a playground for the rich and the famous.

Monaco/Monte Carlo - Port

Monte Carlo - Casino

Monaco/Monte Carlo - Sainte-Dévote Chapel

COAST - Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

A charming little fishing town, just a few kilometres east of Nice featuring a magnificent bay, best seen from the train, which runs along the coast, offering breathtaking views on its way to Monaco.

Vilefranche - La Gare Maritime

Villefranche - La Rue Obscure

Nellcote villa – getting a facelift after years of slumber; it’s difficult to imagine that in this otherwise peaceful environment “Exile on Main Street” was recorded some 40 years ago. But Keith, Mick and co have now left the building for good.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

COAST - Nice, France

Nissa La Bella – unquestionably the Queen of the French Riviera, the city boasts a magnificent setting between the sea and the mountains. It benefited from the patronage of the British upper classes in the end of the 18th century. The famous Promenade des Anglais was conceived in that period, the result of ingenious entrepreneurial/philanthropic thinking. Fed-up with the pestering of the numerous beggars, who had descended on the city during a particularly cold winter, the rich English decided to involve them in this project which was to the benefit of them all. Such a project would be unthinkable now! To this day “La Prom”, one of the most beautiful seaside boulevards in the world, remains the main drag, the beach being regularly rebuilt using river pebbles.