UPHill, finally on TOP of MONACO ! xx

After a comfortable leisurely 25-minute walk uphill (including picture taking along the way), I finally reached the higher level of Monaco where the Palace and other key sights are. Yay! =) and I did not need to take any tour Bus! When you look down, the Monaco's seaviews and harbourfront were pretty spectacular. It created a breathtaking backdrop for my pictures and I actually felt elated to be able to view this in my lifetime.

The Walk along MONACO PORT towards the steps up to the Palace

As you walk downhill, you will get to the Monaco Harbour where the rich dock their yachts. It was kinda surreal to be standing there, not in a good way .... the beach is mostly rocks. There is no public beach you can walk along Monaco. Btw, I wasn't that impressed by Monaco - the entire walk downhill, it's building after building. Sorta like I'm in just another city in Europe, and I had such high expectations of Monaco. I mean, I try to take something back from the city whenever I travel. Milan was sexy. Paris was romantic. London was witty. Sydney was gorgeous. Berlin was refreshing. It's not my fault that I had expected Monaco to be glamorous.

At the end of the harbour walk, cross the road and you will find the steps to see the Monaco Palace and Cathedral. There is an escalator but I found that was inconvenient, as you had to walk some more towards the other side of the harbour to get to the escalator. So up the steps I took, after a few initial stairs -- it then became an uphill pavement climb.

Downhill Monaco

Some more sights on the way downhill. Interesting to note that there were escalators strewn here and there in Monaco as the country is steeply inclined coming off from the port, I suppose these help somewhat in transportation but I did not use them. At some points (near the stairs) I saw signages of defribillators but I did not see the actual devices ?

The Streets of Monaco

These are the sights as I walked downhill. As expected, you get many luxury shops and oh btw, ZARA made it to Monaco ;)

Office Du Tourisme MONACO

My plan was to get off at the Office du Tourisme (Tourist Office) bus stop in Monaco. For 2 reasons, one because it's easier for me to get all the information first from the office before I begin exploring the country and two - the office is situated on higher ground. This means, I can walk downhill afterwards towards the harbour instead of walking uphill.

I found the tourist officer very helpful. He gave me a map of Monaco, and circled all stops for Bus #100 (because I enquired), and showed me how to get to all the important sites by Monaco's buses (they have 5 lines #1, #2, #3 #4 and #5.) I thought I'd just wing it and walk first. And if I get tired, I can just flag the bus along the way. It was a BRILLIANT idea in retrospect. =)

Bus #100 OCTROI to MONACO

The next morning, I popped by the nearby bakery for a fresh croissant and a cuppa espresso. Cost 2 euros only. Then I took in the fresh air by the gardens and walked 2 mins towards the Octroi Bus Stop to catch Bus # 100 from Octroi to Monaco. No sweat ;)

The ride to Monaco took about 30mins, with many sights to see. Along the way, there is a stop called Eze-Sur-Mer, village of Eze - a beautiful medieval village on top of the hill to see, but that would take more time so relunctantly I gave it a pass. Traffic came to a standstill when we came close to Monaco - at the tunnel area, a sign that we are entering the city of Monaco.

Room # 202 Hotel Provencal

A few minor disgruntlements, for 74.50 euros per night there was no electric kettle to make coffee in the comfort of my room. If I wanted to get coffee, I had to make my way down to reception to ask them for it, and they charge 3.00 euros (!) -- they won't tell you this, they just add this into your check-out tab. I thanked my lucky stars that the coffee actually SUCKED and that was the only reason why being a caffeine addict, I did not order more coffees without knowing about the "secret charges".

The reception was abit cold for my liking - in my opinion, did little to promote hospitality of Villefranche but in all fairness, they will do their best to answer your questions. And the worse thing was, they charge 4.50 euros for one hour of Wifi and 9.00 euros for 24 hours of Wifi. They had free Wifi at the Lobby downstairs but I didn't like the way they put up the PC in a dimly lit corner & the performance was too slow (due to old model PC). In the end, I paid an additional 9 euros just for Wifi. If free Wifi in the room AND the room kettle with coffee sachets were available - this hotel wins hands down in every aspect.

For the record, I stayed at Room # 202 which was actually by the stairs - you can hear people if they take the stairs but it's not very often and it did not bother me since it's not very loud. If guests paid abit more, they can get better rooms with a view of the sea.

Overall, I was quite happy with this hotel despite a few ticks. Word of caution, always book ahead before you visit Villefranche because the tourists (even the local ones) come here especially during their summer holidays.

Hotel Provencal, Villefranche

Hotel Provencal 4 Avenue du Maréchal Joffre  06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.
Located 2mins walk from the Octroi Bus Stop with nearby tourist office, bakery, grocer and restaurants. For 74.50 Euros per night (single), I felt the price was justified by European standards. The hotel was recently refurbished (I'm pretty sure at some point it was very rundown), the bed was comfortable, there was enough lights in the room with a flat screen tivo (with ONE English channel) and a shower that worked well. As a female solo traveller, I felt secure with the fact that the reception desk was open 24/7 and there was always someone there at all hours in case I needed something.

The Charming Villefranche-Sur-Mer Village

If you prefer to stay at Villefranche, I think this hotel is perfect - a stone's throw from the Octroi bus stop. It's some distance away from the madness at the beach area, the Tourist Office is nearby if you need any directions, there is a nice bakery, cheap grocer (for your daily essentials), one or two nice restaurants and most importantly, the bus #100 stops here. There's even a nice, little garden nearby. I love it!

OCTROI Stop, Villefranche

I relied on the bus driver to tell me when to get off my Octroi (Villefranche area) bus stop. The roads from Le Port to Octroi were very winding, the bus driver was driving pretty fast but he was very familiar with the road turns. I would highly recommend to take the bus as you get to see spectacular views on the way up. The entire journey took just below 30 minutes.

FRENCH RIVIERA travel blog: NICE PORT

At Nice Port, also known as Le Port ;) The seaview is spectacular, I love it and the weather in July was slightly on the warm side, bout 23 degrees C. If you have time, you can walk around The Old Town area (Vieux Nice) and at the time I was there, the Nice Jazz Festival event was ongoing. There's some nice shopping too.

You can take in the Nice Port views for abit, and then walk towards the bus stops along the harbour - look for the Bus #100 signage. This bus IS awesome. It's the only bus you need if you want to travail from Nice to Villefranche to Monaco. A wait of no more than 20mins and the bus comes. Perfect!