Getting into Monaco is crazy complicated with tunnel after tunnel and the GPS going crazy making it impossible to trust it as it loses satellites multiple times. Somehow, miraculously, we make it to the parking place we selected and there is a lot of parking available which is very surprising and then it is time to explore. First the oceanside as from the parking we are deposited right on the promenade with some nice views of Monaco downtown.
We continue along the oceanside watching boats passing by seemingly one in pursuit of another like in a spy movie, it is quite fun to watch. But also the empty sea is nice to see as we look for interesting seabirds with no luck.
We are not sure how we can get to the top of the rock, it is quite impressive looking and we do not see a good way upwards. So we enter into the parking garage again and we find an elevator taking us and umteenth tour groups up to the top of the rock where the entrance to the Oceanographic Museum lies. We decided before not to visit it and we are glad about our decision as all tour groups seem to go directly in and it seems a very busy location.
Next we enter Jardins Saint-Martin right next door looking for interesting birds but there are way too many people here and too few birds. So we enjoy the views for a short while and then we continue on exploring the top of the Monaco rock.
And then we arrive at the first attraction for today the Cathedral of Monaco. It is quite a large one but relatively new being built at the beginning of the 20th century.
We explore the different nooks and crannies as we approach the altar, surprisingly you can go around it so that is what we intend to do to see what is hidden at the back of the altar.
And around the altar are the tombs of all the Monaco princes and one queen, the famous Grace Kelly that brought major attention to the principality. And next to her is her prince, Prince Rainier, we really didn’t expect to see these tombs here. Guess our preparation was not the best…but still we managed to see them.
And then it is time to walk through this mostly government quarter towards the Prince’s Palace our next major goal. It is surprising that there are no souvenir shops or restaurants in this area we really expected something more lively but it is a short distance and then we are in front of the palace.
