Right next to the Anthropology Museum is one of the two buildings of the National Museum of Monaco, Villa Paloma. The second part is too far away so we will be able to visit only this section. It is a smallish building which was a private villa previously sitting in a premium location close to the border with France.
From this high up the views are quite beautiful and we spend some time enjoying the views of the castle rock and harbors as well as luxurious buildings. In fact 25% of residents are millionaires and every reasonable apartment costs in the millions, crazy.
Like most museums seemingly in Monaco the museum has only a temporary exhibit however it is a doozy. It is a Miquel Barcelo exhibition called “Oceanographe” and we really enjoy the paintings, they are quite special. And the entry is free today, quite a treat.
The exhibits are set on three stories and they are quite varied from paintings to ceramics and mixed arts. We especially have fun with the seafood art exhibit which is quite interesting but we cannot touch it, there is a guard watching us and everyone else with hawk eyes. Of course we wouldn’t do it anyway :).
We continue exploring the colorful and imaginative paintings with some being quite special in our opinion. The exhibit is over too soon really and then it is time to descend back towards the harbor where our next museum awaits, today it is really a museum day for us it seems.
Before leaving we also walk through the gardens, while they are small they are obviously quite a luxury in the overbuilt city and nice to explore for a short while.
Descending we stop to see something that we were curious about when seeing it from the overlooks, there is a kite in the middle of the park that is actually stationary and tied to a pole, we thought there was a person flying it initially. We follow the elevator trail back down, at least now we know where they are and that they are free.
After reaching back down there is another view of the castle right from below, very impressive and then we turn away from the rock towards our next museum, the car museum.
Here we pass, only a short distance, through what seems to be an old restored quarter of Monaco with some stately buildings from the late 19th, early 20th century.
And then we are near the harbor trying to find the best way to the museum. Many pedestrian paths represented on our GPS are closed off and some are even guarded by police, maybe there is a sporting event that is forthcoming? Especially with the horse trailers parked, who knows. We finally find an open road and follow it towards the museum marveling at the many boats and yachts moored here before arriving at the car museum proper.
