Monaco, an Exceptional and Responsible Tourist Destination: Come and Experience
It for a Weekend
So, whether you are passing
through or staying in the Principality for several days, let us show you what
our responsible destination has to offer.
The Green Arrival
For visitors
who wish their transport to be as green as their carbon footprint, you have
several solutions. You can
access the destination from Nice Côte d’Azur airport and other cities of the
Riviera via public transport: by bus (line 110) or by train. For a
luxury, green transfer, the Monegasque company Ҽlimo has at its disposal a
fleet of premium 100% electric
vehicles with chauffeur. |
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Welcome to Monaco!
With 88 % of its bedrooms certified, the Monegasque
hotel sector is very committed to protecting the environment. Stay at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel
& Resort! With its Green
Globe label, the establishment is part of the Monte-Carlo SBM group. If you
have an electric vehicle, a super
charger (rapid charge in only 15 minutes) is at your disposal. Once you
have checked in, take the time for a stroll through the Resort. There you will
find a 400 m² vegetable garden, maintained
by Terrae, where organic fruit and vegetables grow, to later be exquisitely prepared
by the Hotel Chef, Marcel Ravin. With its
sand-bottomed lagoon, its luxuriant garden and its Spa, the hotel is one of the
top performers in terms of reducing its use of natural resources; in 2019 the hotel
achieved the feat of reducing its energy
consumption by 30 % in only eight years of existence. Still today, it
continues to pursue its commitment for the environment by installing 1,000 m² of solar panels on its roofs.
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10 am
It’s time
to explore Monaco. To do so, nothing could be simpler. Line 6 of Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco, whose fleet is powered by Di-ester,
stops right in front of the hotel.
Unless you
would prefer to roam through the streets of the Principality by bike? Monabike is a self-service system of electric
bikes. With 390 bikes and 42 stations, it’s easy to take a bike for an hour or
more and put it back when you’ve finished your ride! Thanks to its
electric assistance, climbing Fairmont will be child’s play and you will find
yourself in Monte-Carlo, the legendary district of the Principality, in record
time.
Having
left your “Steed” at the Monte-Carlo station, you can wander around the
famous Carré d’Or, or do some shopping in the new “One Monte-Carlo” district – a
short walk from the Casino – before exploring the Jardin de la Petite Afrique home to amazing tropical species.
It’s here
that the Heritage Tree Trail begins,
a trail which allows you to stroll through the various gardens of Monaco and
explore its Natural Heritage. For example, Wollemi’s Pine, a plant identified very
recently (1994), north of Sydney in Australia, in a canyon,
the precise location of the discovery has been kept secret to preserve the
species. Somewhat fewer than one hundred trees are known to exist in the world.
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12.30 pm
The Marché de la Condamine is located at Place d’Armes, at the foot of
the Rocher.
It’s the ideal place to enjoy the
Monegasque culinary specialties, like the Barbagiuàn (a fried ravioli made with
chard or marrow) and get a taste of local life. More and more restaurants are
committing themselves to a responsible approach and here you will find establishments
labelled “Restaurant Engagé.” This indicates that they are
working on a daily basis to reduce and sort waste, fighting food waste, single-use
articles, supporting local initiatives, reducing energy and water consumption, and
raising their customers’ awareness on all these pressing issues.
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2.30 pm
Direction Monaco-Ville!
With its medieval alleyways, the
old town, located on the Rocher, houses the headquarters of the Government, the
Palais de Justice, the Conseil National as well as the Palais Princier, the
Cathédrale, la Chapelle de la Miséricorde and the Oceanographic Museum.
Built on the side of the Rocher
de Monaco, the Oceanographic Museum, established
by Prince Albert I, has been watching over the oceans for more than a century. With
an internationally acknowledged expertise, the Museum has more than 6000 specimens
on display, from sharks to seahorses via piranhas and clownfish, etc.. Since its inauguration in 1910,
this Temple to the Sea, has established itself as a benchmark at international level
for informing about, loving and protecting the oceans.
It is made up of a treatment clinic and a convalescent
pool. There you can look after injured turtles in trouble, all the while making
these marine animals ambassadors to the public for their species. The pool, located
in the open air, is part of the Museum tour. Throughout the year events are on
offer to children of all ages.
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4.30 pm
The Jardins Saint Martin nestled between the Oceanographic Museum and
the Cathédrale.
These were the first public
gardens in Monaco created at the behest of Prince Honoré, who had decided,
after a famine, to give employment to the people of Monaco by suggesting that
they create gardens. Like all the other public green
spaces of Monaco, they are maintained organically and have the ECOCERT label. You
will identify several heritage trees thanks to the panels or the Trail
brochure.
Since 2019, a new trail has
seen the light of day in the Jardins St Martin: “The Biodiversity Trail.” This
zone is indeed very rich and the trail will allow you to explore lesser known spaces
in the garden via paths which were formerly closed to the public. From the “Prairie
Fleurie” to the insect hotel, the trail allows you to stroll and pass in front
of the entrance to the caves (closed for safety reasons) which housed the first
prehistoric people of Monaco and nowadays bats and seismic equipment.
At the foot of the cliff, you might be lucky to see cormorants fishing or basking in the
sun or the pair of peregrine falcons
that call these cliffs home, visible mainly in the cove of Fontvieille.
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Dinner
If you’re looking for healthy,
balanced and authentic flavours, the Mediterranean cuisine with Tuscan
influences of the Elsa restaurant
is made for you. With its stunning view of the sea, Elsa is the first 100% organic
and fresh restaurant to have received a star in the prestigious Michelin guide. Monte-Carlo
Beach is located near Monte-Carlo Bay and five minutes will suffice to get back
to your hotel.
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DAY 2
This
second day goes under the banner of intermodal connections (using several modes
of green transport). Green transport is extremely well-developed in Monaco. With your Monaco Malin guide, you
can get from point A to point B using only green transport at the shortest
possible journey times and getting around like locals!
9.00 am
To start
the day, head to the Larvotto beach located a short walk from Monte-Carlo Bay.
More than
just a beach, the Larvotto zone is a protected
marine reserve particularly for its Posidonia
seagrass bed. So, if you go for a swim, particularly in the morning, you’ll
be swimming among the rich fish fauna!
After your
walk or swim you can head, still on foot, to the Japanese Garden.
This
garden, created in 1994, at the behest of Prince Rainier III, in accordance
with the strictest principles of the concepts of Zen thought by landscape
architect Yasuo BEPPU (Grand Prix of the Osaka Floral Exhibition 1990), offers an
exotic voyage to the land of the rising sun, at the very heart of the Principality.
Managed by the Direction de l’Aménagement Urbain, the garden has an eco‑label and
uses only organic processes. When you leave the Jardin
Japonais, take the famous Grand Prix tunnel to go to Port Hercule. Right below
the Fairmont and alongside the famous tunnel, is the principality’s second protected
marine area: the zone known as the Tombant des Spélugues, exhibits a corraligenous
cliff rich in Mediterranean red coral.
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11.30 am
By the
beautiful Yacht Club building, find and use the water-bus to cross the harbour!
The water-bus is equipped with
two electric engines powered by batteries and 14 monocrystal solar panels which
in summer supply 15W/day. In a few minutes, you will
arrive at Quai Antoine Ier, the chance for a walk on the floating pier and the
Solarium offering views over Monaco and Italy in the distance.
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Lunch at Stars'N'Bars
An American-style sports bar and
family restaurant, Stars’N’Bars, has always been sensitive to
environmental issues. The restaurant’s dishes are "home-made" using
ingredients from organic agriculture and the menu is displayed on a digital
tablet to avoid the use of paper. Stars’N’Bars is Mr.Goodfish certified (a European programme aiming to raise awareness of sustainable consumption
of sea produce), and fights food waste by offering “doggy bags”. |
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Afternoon: Fontvieille Landscape Park and its Rose Garden
The parc paysager de Fontvieille surrounds
the Monte-Carlo Circus venue and offers the neighbourhood an urban landscape
park much appreciated by families. Mediterranean species such as olive
trees, pines and cypress rub shoulders with many heritage trees (for example the
lovely Erythrina, “the coral tree,” so-called because of its red flowers). Winding
paths cross the park guide walkers along a trail of botanical discoveries as
well as culture with many works of art. Thus you can discover, at the
turn of a path, an educational vegetable
garden, the Smart flower (an intelligent
photovoltaic generator made up of 12 petals which work like a sunflower – it
opens and closes depending on the sun – and supplies the energy for the park’s
lighting) as well as a children’s play area.
The park includes
a landscaped pond where many species cohabitate, like free-roaming ducks and
geese as well as carps of all sizes which can be glimpsed from the banks of the
pond or the wooden footbridge.
At the turn of the footpath, you
will enjoy the beautiful Princess Grace Rose Garden, created by
Prince Rainier III in tribute to his wife, Princess Grace of Monaco. The 5,000 m² of this rose
garden (with the Ecocert EVE label for good ecological practice), houses more
than 315 varieties of roses representing 6,000 rose plants, divided into seven
themes.
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Afterwork and Dinner
You can begin the evening at
the Brasserie de Monaco to enjoy
a beer brewed on-site using organic malt and take the time to walk along Port
Hercule to explore Monaco By Night!
To get back to your hotel, several
solutions are available to you: the CAM bus, Monabike bikes, or why not try Mobee? This is the service of shared electric
vehicles in the Principality, based on the principle of free-floating. The
fleet is made up of Twizys, Peugeot e-208s and Teslas Model 3. An easy, quick and ecologically
friendly way of getting back to your hotel to enjoy the cuisine of its Chef,
Marcel Ravin, a Mediterranean cuisine mixed with Caribbean flavours produced
responsibly, with vegetables from the garden located in the hotel.
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