DAY 07: MONTECARLO
Check into hotel. Today we visit the glittering destinations around the globe, perhaps nowhere conjures up the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous as much as Monte Carlo in the principality of Monaco on the French Riviera. The very name has become synonymous with jetsetters who fly their private planes or moor their yachts here, mainly to try their hand at its legendary casino. The ornate casino, Europe’s most famous, was the primary impetus in turning what had been the continent’s poorest country into the world’s richest.
Monte Carlo, in literal translation, “Charless Hill,” was named for Charles II of Spain who made it the centre piece of a revitalized Monaco in the 19th century. Today, Monte Carlo refers not to a city, but to the area surrounding the casino. As St. Peters Cathedral dominates Vatican City, the casino dominates Monte Carlo. Designed by Charles Garnier, who also designed the iconic Paris Opera House, the Monte Carlo Casino opened in 1878 to much fanfare. Queen Victoria of England may have referred to it as “a den of iniquity,” but her opinion was not shared by Europes other reigning monarchs and aristocrats, who made it a place of pilgrimage. Todays visitors enter through the magnificent atrium lobby, which also provides access to the 520-seat Opera House