The following notes are arranged to cover the normal route of the sightseeing tour starting from the station.
City Tour from the Station
On leaving the station, turn right down the Ave. Jean Médecin. This is the main street of Nice, full of shops, cinemas, banks and the Nice Etoile shopping mall. The street is named after a former Mayor of Nice. The Médecin family provided a dynastic succession of Mayors for many years but, although Jean Médecin undoubtedly did a great deal for the economic development of Nice, his grandson Jacques was eventually obliged to bolt to Uruguay a few years ago when the authorities finally decided to investigate his corrupt and mafioso style of government. He has since been brought back to Nice for trial, and has done a spell in jail. Graham Greene’s novel J’Accuse describes the Nice underworld, which is fortunately rarely seen by visitors.
Just before you get to the Place Masséna, you pass the Galeries Lafayette on the left. To the right is the rue Masséna and a large pedestrian precinct, known to 18th century ex-patriate Englishmen as Newborough. This is a great place for shopping, with everything from posters, cards and souvenirs to designer fashion. Also lots of cafés, restaurants and fashionable ice cream parlours.
The Place Masséna is named after the son of a wine merchant who served in the French Army under the ancien régime but never made it past second lieutenant. He re-enlisted at the Revolution and was highly respected, both by Napoleon, who called him “the spoiled child of victory” and by Wellington, who considered him France’s finest tactitian after Napoleon himself. He was created Marshall of France by the Emperor.
The colours of the buildings, pink with green shutters, are the colours of the House of Savoy and by law cannot be changed. Nice belonged to the House of Savoy from 1388 to 1860 with only a few short breaks, and this explains the decidedly Latin atmosphere prevalent in the town. The Kingdom of Savoy covered an area which stretched from the French Alps (modern day Savoie), through north-western Italy, down to the Riviera and across to the island of Sardinia.
This square is also the centre of the Mardi Gras Carnival, which lasts for ten days and culminates in the burning in effigy of King Carnival on Shrove Tuesday. The period in between is filled with processions, flower and confetti battles, fireworks and masked balls. Each year a theme is chosen and the revellers dress up in the appropriate costume to celebrate in style.
To the left are the gardens and fountains of the Espace Masséna. These form part of the building project which has completely covered the Paillon river, which used to separate the new town from the old. The site had originally been earmarked for a casino, but the local inhabitants vetoed the idea, preferring instead to preserve the character of this square in the heart of the city. Turn right down the Ave de Verdun and you will pass the Jardin Albert Ier containing an impressive sixty foot sculpture by Bernard Venet. The circus tent (Théâtre de Verdure) is a very active venue for popular concerts. The garden itself is named after the Grimaldi prince who founded the Oceanography Museum in Monaco.
You are now approaching the Promenade des Anglais, a palm-lined avenue facing onto the Baie des Anges, where 19th century aristocrats strolled to enjoy the therapeutic qualities of the sea air. The writer Tobias Smollet lived here in 1763 and wrote invitingly of the pleasant climate. Soon Nice was invaded by the English nobility who came to escape the cold, damp winters back home. In summer Nice emptied as the blue-blooded visitors sought refuge from the hot Mediterranean sun. The custom of taking seaside holidays in the summer originated with the less well-to-do middle classes, taking advantage of off-season rates at the hotels. In the early years, Nice was famous as a winter resort (all the hotels closed in April), and was full of consumptives (TB sufferers), who came to breathe the mild winter air, which was supposed to arrest the wasting process. 19th century European literature is full of references to consumption and 150 years ago the beach here in Nice would have been lined with invalids, swathed in blankets, struggling vainly against the disease.
Before tourism became the most important factor in Nice’s economy, the local people survived by cultivating citrus fruits. In 1822 the crop failed as a result of severe frosts and all the peasants who relied on the work were destined to starve. A philanthropic English resident, the Reverend Lewis Way, decided to embellish the town and provide employment for the locals, by commissioning a path, two metres wide along the beach, which was quickly named the “chemin des anglais”. By 1844 this had developed into the Promenade des Anglais. Grand hotels such as the Westminster, the West End, the Royal and the exclusive Negresco were built along the avenue and Nice’s reputation as the premier resort on the Riviera began to spread throughout Europe. Point out the Palais de la Méditerranée, a fine art deco building which is currently being reconstructed behind the preserved facade. It was built as a casino, but was closed down because of millions of francs in unpaid taxes. There is a casino in the Méridien hotel, the Casino Ruhl, but it too is periodically closed down amid rumours of illegal goings on.
As you drive along the Promenade everyone will be admiring the sea and the palm trees. You can talk about the climate, the fact that the Mediterranean has no tides; the beach here is pebbly (this usually surprises the group, who expect sand, the nearest sandy beaches are Antibes or Cannes). The beach is topless as are most of the beaches along the Côte d’Azur; many of the large hotels have private enclosures, where, for a fee, you can sunbathe in comfort and use the changing facilities, showers etc. The public beach is located opposite the Jardin Albert Ier and is free.
Point out the Negresco hotel, the grandest in Nice. It was built in 1912 by a Hungarian immigrant, Henri Negresco to attract the upper crust clientele who flocked to the Casino. Look out for the doormen in operatic costumes. Teachers might like to dress up a bit and go for tea or an apéritif at the bar.
Turn right off the Promenade des Anglais just after the Negresco and head along the Blvd Gambetta, towards Blvd Tsarewitch.
The Russian Cathedral
For a long while Nice was a British preserve, but from the 1850’s onwards an aristocratic Russian commuinty grew up, attracted both by the mild winters and admiration for all things French (the Russian court spoke French in prefrence to the “barbarous” language of the peasants). Villefranche became a Russian naval base and, as there was no Russian Orthodox church closer than Marseilles, baptisms and funerals had to be performed by the naval chaplains, whilst weddings were held along the coast at Marseilles.
In 1859 the first Russian church was built in the rue de Longchamp, where it still stands today. But in 1896 the Empress, who stayed in Cap Ferrat that year, was told of the need for a new, larger church and on her return to Russia, she persuaded her son Czar Nicholas II to contribute funds and a suitable site for the project. The church took ten years to complete (1902–1912) and the work was beset with financial problems, but the result is the magnificent cathedral, just off the Bld Tsarewitch where you stop for a visit (you pay entrances. No short shorts, no inside photography, good cards for sale. There is sometimes a guide inside. He can be very long-winded. You will have to translate, but you don’t have to use him).
The cathedral is one of the finest edifices of this type outside old Russia. The style is reminiscent of traditional Russian church architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries. The exterior owes much to the Cathedral of St Basil in Moscow, and the interior decoration borrows heavily from the old churches of Iaroslav. The church is dedicated to St Nicholas, in commemoration of the generous patronage of Czar Nicholas II.
Six onion-shaped domes crown the building which is shaped in the form of a Greek cross; each arm is of equal length, unlike the Latin cross used as the design for most Occidental churches. The Orthodox church developed after the division of the Roman Empire. The Eastern part flourished as the Byzantine Empire, and the Orthodox Church developed independently from Rome, (although there are many similarities between Catholic and Orthodox liturgy). The Orthodox Church converted the Slav populations of Central Europe and Russia, bringing with it Byzantine architectural influences, and the Cyrillic alphabet still used by the Russians. As a rule, wherever Catholicism has maintained its sway in the West, the Roman alphabet has persisted, even in Slavonic countries such as the Czech Republic and Poland, where the appropriate sounds are difficult to convey in our 26 letter alphabet.
The exterior of the church is richly decorated with colourful mosaics. In particular you will see, above and to the left of the entrance door, a representation of the Turin Shroud being held aloft by an angel. Centuries ago this shroud, which shows the full length negative image of a crucified man, bearing the wounds inflicted during the Passion of Christ as described in the Bible, was one of the holiest relics of the Russian Church. It was kept in the city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, and many miracles were attributed to it. Like the Virgin’s Veil, kept in Chartres Cathedral, it was hung from the battlements in times of crisis to protect the city. Eventually, after numerous wars, the shroud found its way to Turin, where it is now kept safely locked away from the light. Carbon dating suggests that the fabric is not old enough to be the shroud used to wrap Christ’s body, but no adequate explanation has yet been found to indicate how the image was made.
The interior of the church is richly decorated with jewel encrusted treasures and icons in silver gilt cases. Most of these are magnificent copies of ancient icons from churches in Russia. They were commissioned by the faithful and presented to the church. Facing east you will see that one arm of the Greek cross is separated from the rest of the church by an ornate screen (the Iconostasis). Closed doors isolate worshippers from the “holy of holies”, except on Easter Sunday when they are symbolically thrown open. The Iconostasis is the principal decorative element of an Orthodox church and this is a particularly fine example. By tradition, the icon to the right of the Royal Door is of the face of Christ, to the left, the Virgin and Child, and at each end, the patron Saints of the church, Saint Nicholas and Saint Alexandra.
Traditionally the congregation stands during services—which last for several hours—as in Western cathedrals during the Middle Ages (although you will see some chairs, provided for the increasingly elderly congregation).
Outside, the chapel situated behind and to the left predates the Cathedral. It was built in memory of Crown Prince Nicholas, on the site of the villa in which he died in 1865.
Cimiez and the Roman Arena
Leave the church and turn left up the Blvd Gambetta. Turn right on rue Vernier. Keep going until you hit the Ave George V, which brings you to the Blvd de Cimiez. Turn left.
When the Romans came to this area, they disliked the hot town by the sea, preferring to build a new town on the cooler hill called Cimiez. Today Cimiez is one of the most exclusive areas of Nice, with magnificent villas and beautiful streets. As you drive up the Blvd de Cimiez you will see straight ahead of you a huge building with a statue in front of it. The statue is of Queen Victoria and the building behind it is the old hotel Regina Palace, now converted into appartments. When Queen Victoria stayed in Nice she lived here in the left hand wing of the hotel. On top of the wing you can see a replica of her crown.
Follow the road round to the right. Have the bus drop you at the iron gates of the Arena. Tell the driver to meet you in the park by the Monastery. Take the group through the gate and show them the Roman Arena. It was very small and was not used for vast killings and massacres. Just how much you want to say about arenas in general depends on where you have been before and where you are going on to. However, it is a Roman Arena, so do it justice.
All Roman towns of any size had an arena, baths, a forum and usually a theatre and other public buildings. In the 3rd century AD the town of Cemenelum at Cimiez numbered 22,000 people and was capital of the Roman province of Alpes Maritimae.
The word arena comes from the Latin word meaning sand. The sand soaked up the blood of gladiators or animals depending on the day’s sport. The arenas were monumental buildings with tiered seating, which was arranged according to social status. The important citizens, generals etc. sat near the front, with lesser folk behind them and so on up to the very top, where the women and slaves sat. You will have to get the group to use their imagination to picture the whole structure covered with marble and statues. Under the sandy area were the dungeons and cages for condemned men and the wild animals which devoured them (now uncovered in the Colosseum in Rome). In an arena such as this one, there would have been no lions, crocodiles etc., the cost of transport would have been prohibitive. Instead they used local animals, wolves, boar, bears etc. Today the arena of Cimiez is used for open air theatre and concerts.
Follow the path away from the arena into the olive grove. You will notice several busts of jazz musicians. In summer a big televised jazz festival takes place here. On your right you come to a large pink building. This is the Musée Matisse. Depending on the intereset of your group you could suggest that they make a short visit (they pay entrances). Many great artists of the Impressionist and Post Impressionist period came to the South of France because of the beautiful scenery, the flowers and above all the light. Van Gogh chose Arles, Cézanne painted in Aix, Bréa, Duffy, Chagall and Renoir all worked on the Côte d’Azur. Matisse spent the last years of his life working in this villa and he is buried in the cemetery you will be coming to shortly.
Continue your walk through the olive grove. Just past the Matisse Museum, visible through the wire fence, is a pile of stones which is all that remains of the Roman Baths.
Bathing was a well established ritual in Roman society. Citizens would visit the baths daily and besides exercising and bathing, would conduct much of their business there. The atmosphere was probably something like a modern health club, with refreshments available, areas for relaxation and a library. The baths themselves were laid out in similar fashion to a modern day Turkish bath and with separate areas for women. After stripping off, patrons would move into the tepidarium or warm room to work up a light sweat. From there they proceeded into the caldarium or hot room, which opened the pores even further, and cleansed all the dirt from the skin. Slaves would rub olive oil, freshly pressed from the nearby olive grove, into the backs of their masters (or mistresses), and this was then scraped off with a strigil—a blunt metal instrument. Rooms were heated by hot air, which was circulated under the floor and behind hollow walls from a central furnace; this was known as the hypocaust system. Thus invigorated, the bathers moved on to the frigidarium, or cold room, where they plunged into a pool of cold water. The whole leisurely process encouraged idle and sometimes dangerous conversation, and many a plot was hatched in the relaxing atmosphere of the bath house.
Follow the path around the edge of the olive grove until you come to some steps. Go up the steps, past a monument to the man who invented the tank, and facing you from left to right will be the cememery, the Franciscan monastery and the gardens.
Monastery, Gardens and Views
Your bus will be parked a little way away to the left. Make a rendezvous for departure in about half an hour, depending on your schedule. Before you take the group into the monastery gardens, point out the church, which they may want to look at, and encourage them to explore the cemetery, which they always find interesting. Matisse’s tomb is indicated, but it is quite a distance below the main cemetery.
The monastery church goes back to the 16th century, but the facade and frescoes are from the mid 19th century. The classical porch dates from 1662. Inside is a painting of the Crucifixion by Louis Bréa, and the Deposition by Antoine Bréa. The actual monastery is mainly 17th century and was originally Benedictine. In front of the monastery is a white marble cross, with sculptures of St Francis and St Clare.
Walk with the group into the gardens which are beautifully tended and make a great setting for pretty photos. From the far end you have a view over the Paillon valley and the hills beyond with the road bridge leading up to the autoroute. You should be able to see the observatory which was built between 1880 and 1887. Charles Garnier (Paris Opera and Monte Carlo Casino) and Eiffel both worked on its design. Since 1972 it has been attached to the University of Nice. It studies astral atmosphere and “double” stars. Unfortunately it has now lost its scientific importance because of Nice’s light pollution. Looking straight ahead you can see the wooded hill of le Château overlooking the old town. The white patch on the side of the hill is a cemetery.
There are toilets just by the entrance to the garden.
Back on the bus, take the Blvd de Cimiez and the Blvd de Carabacel to the Port. There is not much to see on the way down so you should talk more generally about Nice.
General Information about Nice
Nice is wonderfully situated. It has all the advantages of being warm and sunny, but in the winter the Alpes Maritimes are so close that you can ski less than one hour away at the man-made resort of Isola 2000. The climate is perfect for growing flowers and the surrounding hills are covered with green-houses. Antibes is the world centre for rose growing. The abundance of flowers grown in this region supply the world-famous French perfume industry.
With a population of 354,000, Nice is the fifth largest town in France, and the International Airport is France’s second, handling 5 million passengers annually. The urban area has extended very rapidly in recent years, and there is a plan to continue construction which will eventually link the conurbations of Nice and Cannes. Many large firms have taken advantage of the Government’s incentives to decentralise from Paris to Nice, particularly electronics and computer technology, and the area is sometimes compared with Silicone Valley. These developments have inevitably done much to destroy the natural beauty of the coastal area, but the region behind Nice (the arrière pays), is still very unspoiled. Likewise, the old town of Nice and the tourist areas have preserved a great deal of their original charm, making the town the uncontested queen of the Riviera.
Nice is a favourite with pensioners who retire here for the sun (the Florida of France) and the average of the population is relatively high, with 30% over 60. The population is further swelled by “pieds noirs” (French citizens who left North Africa when France gave up her colonies there), and immigrants from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, (quite a few of them illegal). Racism is an issue and Jean Marie Le Pen’s National Front has a worrying level of support. This is all the more worrying now that the iron rule of Jacques Médecin is over and there is a certain political void.
Nice was founded by the Greeks in the 5th century BC. The name of the city is a corruption of Nike and was adopted by the Greeks after their defeat of the local Ligurian tribes. The first settlement however, dates back over 400,000 years. The site has been converted into the Terra Amata Museum, located just beyond the harbour on Blvd Carnot. The Greeks built a small trading post here and another one across the bay which they called Antipolis, which means “the town opposite”. This is now modern-day Antibes. The Ligurians, with whom the Greeks traded, would not enter the settlements and all business was done outside the city walls.
After the Greeks and Romans and the Dark Ages, the house of Savoy seized control of Nice in 1388. Nice belonged at that time to the Kingdom of Provence, but the Count of Savoy took advantage of a dispute in the line of succession to seize Nice and thereby gained a narrow gateway to the sea for the previously landlocked country. The kings of France tried repeatedly to win Nice, so as to provide a strong natural frontier to the South East. The Counts of Savoy accordingly fortified Nice with ramparts and built a fortress on the hill which is still known as le Château although the citadel was destroyed by the French in the 18th century.
The border between France and Savoy was a small river named le Var which runs into the sea near Nice Airport. Along the valley of the Var are many fortified towns such as St Paul and Vence. From 1848, Savoy, although itself a kingdom, was the prime mover in the cause of Italian Unification and the Italian atmosphere in old Nice is particularly strong. The local dialect is very close to Italian and in the old town you will notice that all the inscriptions on churches and public buildings are in Italian. In 1860 almost 500 years of history came to an end when the population of Nice voted overwhelmingly (25,743 to 260) to become part of France. King Victor Emmanuel of Savoy had been obliged to seek French military aid in his struggle against the Austrians. Part of the price was the peaceful annexation of Savoy and Nice to France, provided the local people were in favour.
Today, as you wander through the narrow streets of the old town, with washing strung out high above you, the brightly painted buildings and the bustle could almost persuade you that you had strayed across the border.
Food and Local Specialities
When it comes to food, in addition to the typical Mediterranean specialities of provençal cuisine, Nice has its own variants, some with a decidedly Italian flavour. Salade Niçoise is made with tuna fish, anchovies, olives, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes and lettuce, usually with sliced green peppers, celery etc. A Pan Bagnat is more or less the same thing in a bun. You can get wonderful fresh pasta and good pizzas everywhere, and coffee and cappucino are good and strong. Another Niçois speciality is petits farçis, a delicious assortment of stuffed vegetables: onions, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes and sometimes even sardines. You will also find excellent fish and bouillabaisse, the famous fish stew or soup, which is actually a speciality of Marseilles. A delicacy unique to Nice is socca, a sort of large flat pancake made with chick pea flour. You will see it for sale in the market, cut into sections for sale. Nice provides 25% of Fance’s production of olive oil, which, along with garlic and local herbs, forms the basis of Mediterranean cookery. Tapenade is a paste made of olives and flavoured with anchovies and herbs—good for apéritif snacks. Another local speciality is crystalized fruit and flowers. Apricots, peaches, figs, mandarines and other local fruit are preserved in sugar, together with violets and mimosa. There is a Confiserie at the port which does a demonstration and sells all these along with jams and hard candies. You can make a stop there if your group seems interested.
The Blvd de Cimiez turns into the Blvd Carabacel and brings you to the Acropolis Conference centre (on your left). Turn right and then left, and drive through the Museum of Modern Art into the Place Garibaldi.
The name of Garibaldi is inextricable linked with the wars of Italian Unification. In 1848 he fought against the Austrians in Northern Italy and in 1860 his famous Army of One Thousand swept triumphantly through Sicily and Campania. He was fighting again on various Austrian fronts in 1870 and 1871.
In fact he was born a French citizen in Nice in 1807, at a time when the city was temporarily annexed to Napoleon’s Empire. He had an extraordinarily varied and adventurous career and is the perfect prototype of the romantic guerilla leader. He took part in revolts and revolutions in Genoa, Brazil and Uruguay. He was captured, tortured and condemned to death on various occasions. In between revolutions he travelled to China, Australia, London and New York—and all this before he even started on Italian Unification!
In 1871, after fighting with Gambetta in the Franco Prussian war, he was simultaneously elected Député of the Seine, Côte d’Or and Alpes Maritimes départements. He died in Caprera in 1882. (Don’t worry if this seems a daunting amount of information—you just drive through the square, but you never know, you might have a Garibaldi freak on the bus!)
There is a statue of the great man in the centre of the square. It was here in 1860 that the keys of the city were ceremonially handed over by the Mayor to the Emperor Napoleon and Empress Eugénie. The keys are now kept in the Masséna Museum near the Negresco.
From here, follow signs to the port. If your group wants to visit the sweet factory you can park in the quayside car park and the confiserie will pay the parking feee.
The small port of Nice is mainly commercial with a few yachts usually moored along the quay. There is also a daily car ferry and hydrofoil service to Corsica.
After your visit to the port you can drive to the panorama on the Mont Boron, which is between the basse and moyenne corniche roads, for a spectacular view over the town and the Baie des Anges. Alternatively, follow the road round the base of the Château, past the war memorial cut into the rock, which commemorates the 4,000 Niçois who died in the Great War. As you turn the corner you can point out the elevator and (steep) staircase which take you up to the Château. You then follow the Quai des Etas Unis, scene of the Carnival firework display, and lined with low buildings, formerly fishermen’s houses, which are now some of Nice’s finest restaurants. Behind these buildings, but not visible from the road, is the flower market (on Sunday and Monday it is an antiques and bric-a-brac market), and further back, the old town. This is the place to look for less expensive and local items—beach towels, herbs, lavender and small objects made from olive wood. There are stalls selling handmade jewellery and trinkets and the morning produce market is excellent.
You are now back at the Jardin Albert Ier. You can end your tour here or drive to the hotel, depending on your schedule.
A Walk Through the Old Town of Nice
It is unlikely that you will have time for a walking tour through the old town as part of the city tour. But you might offer to take your group, or part of your group through the narrow streets below the Château. Try to do this in the morning when the shops are open and the markets are busy.
Start your walk at the Cours Saleya. From there make your way past the Palais de Justice to the Place Rossetti with the Cathédrale Sainte Réparate.
Continue along the rue Rossetti towards the Château and turn left into the rue Droite. At number 15 is the Palais Lascaris which is worth visiting (closed 12.00–14.00). It belonged to the Lascaris family of Ventimiglia until the Revolution and, althought small, has splendid rooms, a spectacular marble staircase and a chapel. On the ground floor is a beautifully preserved 18th century pharmacy which was brought lock stock and barrel from Besançon.
Continue along the rue Droite, the former main street of Nice and now one of the most picturesque alleys of the old town, until you come to the Place St François with the former town hall, and the fish market (mornings only). Turn back and walk to the Place Centrale (rue St François, rue Collet). From there you can take any of the small streets (rue de la Boucherie, Halle aux Herbes or rue Centrale). They all have plenty of shops and lead you back towards the cathedral and the Palais de Justice.
Eze and Monaco Excursion
There are now four roads between Nice and Monaco. You should take the moyenne corniche one way (the only one giving access to Eze village) and the basse corniche the other. The grande corniche runs higher up the cliffs and is unsuitable for buses. The highest road is the autoroute which you will use if you are travelling to or from Italy. Parts of it follow the via Julia Augusta which linked Cimiez with Genoa and, if you are quick, it offers a glimpse of the Trophée des Alpes, built by Augustus in 6 BC to celebrate the subjugation of Transalpine Gaul.
The Moyenne Corniche
The road offers breathtaking views as it winds several hundred feet above the sea, clinging to the cliffs. Leaving Nice you first pass above the deep inlet of Villefranche where you may see large yachts or a cruise ship at anchor. Villefranche used to be the naval harbour of the Dukes of Savoy and was later used by the Russian and, more recently, by the US navy.
The spectacular promontory is Cap Ferrat, probably the most exclusive spot on this stretch of coast. It is a favourite retreat for film stars and celebrities, who own the fabulous villas surrounded by lush gardens. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild occupies the most prestigious site at the “neck” of the peninsula. The villa was built in the Italian style in 1900 to house the baroness’s fabulous collection of art and furniture. It is easily reached by local bus from Nice and well worth a visit in the unlikely event that anyone is bored in Nice! Beaulieu is the next village along the coast. Very pretty, very quiet and very exclusive it has its own casino and some excellent restaurants.
You can see Eze village from afar, clinging to a precipitious rocky spur high above the sea. Eze is an excellent example of the “perched villages” to be found in the South East corner of France. The foundation of these villages goes back to the period of great Germanic invasions after the retreat of the Roman Legions. For centuries the peasants built their villages in this way, at a distance from their lands and water supplies, and surrounded them with ramparts to protect themselves from the threat of Moslem pirates and the attacks of mercenaries in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
No traffic is permitted in Eze and all deliveries are made either on foot or by donkey. The village is full of tourist shops. At the very top, on the site of a ruined fortress, is the cactus garden—a good place for group photos!
Monaco
The independent Principality of Monaco belongs to a group of ananchronistic mini states such as Liechtenstein, Andorra and Luxembourg. The ruling Grimaldi family trace their ancestry back to the 14th century, when the first Duke probably bought the territory from Genoa. Napoleon elevated them to the status of Princes, and Napoleon III bought Roquebrune and Menton, which originally belonged to the Principality, in 1861 at the time of the annexation of Nice.
The Principality is just under one square mile in surface area, technically divided into Monaco, Monte Carlo, la Condamine and Fontevielle. In practice every inch is covered with buildings; since the Second World War, sky scrapers have shot up and the territory has been increased by building out into the sea. The population is 27,000, of which only a few thousand are true Monegasques. The great attraction of citizenship is the absence of direct taxation. Citizenship can be bought, but only by international celebrities with excedingly robust finances!
The vast wealth of the Principality derives from the Casino in Monte Carlo. The first casino was opened in 1856 in Monaco itself by the Prince, who was short of funds. It was not an immediate success as Monaco was quite isolated from the rest of the Riviera resorts. In 1862 however, the casino moved into its present splendid building, designed by Charles Garnier, and François Blanc, director of the fashionable casino at Bad Homburg, arrived to run it. His brilliant management, together with the construction of the railway and improved roads brought society people in droves to Monaco. Luxurious hotels and villas were built, most of them the property of the Société des Bains de Mer, which owned the Casino.
Monaco has an economic and customs union with France and of course people speak French and use French currency. The most noticeable differences are the spotless cleanliness of the Principality, the chic uniforms and white gloves of the police, the orange mailboxes and special postage stamps. The French are deeply interested in the goings-on of the Grimaldi family, who are almost surrogate Royals for the Republic.
Prince Rainer is now obviously very frail and we were all waiting for him to hand over officially to his son Albert—as yet unmarried and something of a playboy. The latest news however, is that he intends to bypass the heir in favour of Caroline’s eldest son. Princess Caroline took over as first lady after her mother Princess Grace was killed in a motor accident. Her first marriage was unhappy and ended in divorce after a few years, with no children. She then married an Italian, Stefano Casiraghi with whom she had three children. The Pope, however, refused to recognise her divorce and excommunitcated her—much to the chagrin of the family who are deeply Catholic. The husband was tragically kiled in an offshore racing accident and Caroline retreated into widowhood. She bought a country property near St Rémy de Provence where she lived the “simple” life with her children, who attended the local school. With cruel crassness of timing, the Vatican finally agreed to the annullment of her first marriage just after the death of her second husband! After a liaison with the French film actor Vincent Lindon, she took up with an old flame, Prince Ernst-August von Hannover who was, regrettably, married. Months of intrigue and paparazzi speculation culminated in a messy divorce for Ernst and a smiling Caroline, who has resumed many of her public functions in the Principality. Gossips say that marriage to a member of a real royal family will be the key to Caroline’s installation as Regent during the minority of her son.
Meanwhile Stéphanie, the younger daughter, led a wild and highly publicised life as a model, designer of scanty swimwear and budding pop star before she really decided to rock the boat and formed an attachment to a dubious character who already had a small child with another woman. The couple produced two children themselves before finally getting married in a rather low key ceremony in 1995. “Shocking!” as the French would say! Much worse was to come, however, when barely a year later, photos were splashed all over the Italian scandal press of Stephanie’s husband in flagrante beside a swimming pool with a Belgian stripper! Amid anguished speculation, recriminations and conspiracy theories, the couple were divorced in a matter of weeks.
Annual events include the Monte Carlo Rally (January), the Grand Prix de Monaco (Formula One racing through the tortuous streets of the Principality), International Television Festival (February), International Tennis Festival (April), Golf Open Tournament (June), Circus Festival (December). The Ballets de Monte Carlo, Opera and National Orchestra are internationally recognised and the Season is further enlivened with Galas and Charity Balls. AS Monaco is one of the best European football teams and were French champions in 1997.