Villafranche & Monaco

The next stop on the cruise was the little French port city of Villafranche, located on the French Riviera coast between Nice and Monaco. Travelers were given the opportunity then to visit either of the famous cities, or both if they dared to spend the day rushing. We opted to just visit Monaco, and we had plenty to see as it turned out.

Here's a view of Villafranche from our cruise ship which was docked in the bay. Villafranche is quite small, and so we ferried into the town center.

I was surprised by how beautiful little Villafranche was, especially from the bay, where you can see the nice line of colored houses that make up the first row of the little port village. It's very touristic, with lots of cruises and other travelers coming through all the time, but it's pretty, and the streets are filled with little shops and restaurants, nice flower decorated terraces, and quaint little rock beaches.

Perhaps the most famous place in Monaco is Monte Carlo, a residential and resort area of the city, and the Monte Carlo Casino. Monte Carlo of one of several municipalities within Monaco, a city-state that is also the world's second-smallest country after Vatican City. It is, however, the world's smallest monarchy, or principality.

Monaco is surrounded by France is French-speaking, although a great majority of its residents are wealthy people from all over. It's also fairly close to Italy, about 16 kilometers away.

Here's a close up of the Monte Carlo Casino with a few flashy cars in front. The building was constructed by architect Charles Garnier, who also did the Paris Opera house. We went into the nearby Cafe Paris and also the room for the slots.

Another famous feature of Monaco is the Circuit de Monaco that hosts the Monaco Grand Prix of Formula One racing. It's one of the most prestigious events in the sport, and it's tight, narrow, and tunneled passages makes it one of the most challenges courses also.

Here the girls are in front of the main port.

We visited some botanical gardens that specialized in great varities of cacti.

The gardens also had some spectacular caves that we visited. They were a great relief because it was a really hot day.


The old part of Monaco lies atop the Rock of Monaco. This is where the palace of the Prince of Monaco is located and also a church where he and Grace Kelly were once married.