HIGHLIGHTS
• Monte Carlo Casino
• Café de Paris
• Oceanographic Museum
• Classic Car Collection
• Jardin Exotique
• Palais du Prince
From Beausoliel
Access in minutes on foot:
• Monte Carlo Casino
in 5 - 15 minutes
• Beach and Promenade
in 10-30 minutes
• Port
in 10-20 minutes
Public transport from Beausoliel
Key transport links in minutes on foot:
• Bus station in 5 – 20 minutes
• Train station in 5 – 20 minutes
The lowdown on Monaco (Beausoleil)
Beausoleil was formerly known as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur (Upper Monte Carlo), and it’s easy to see why: literally across the road, it’s hard to see where Monte Carlo ends and Beausoleil begins. You can wander across the streets and footpaths, take the well placed lifts and escalators down the cliffs and cross country borders several times without ever noticing.
Beausoliel, like Monaco, is lined with Belle Epoque apartment buildings peppered with modern towers and impressive villas. Just above Monaco, 160 meters above sea level, there are more impressive panoramic sea views on offer in rental apartments as well as quieter balconies. Like Monaco, Beausoleil is serviced by public and private lifts which can take you across the length and breath of Monaco within minutes. It’s no surprise that the people who work in Monaco live in Beausoliel apartments and just flit between the two both at work and at play.
The key things to do whilst staying in one of our apartments in Beausoliel are the same as staying in Monaco. Most of our guests booking an apartment in Monaco do so for the glamour of being in the playground of the super-rich, just for a wee while. We’re sure visiting the Monte Carlo Casino and sipping cocktails at the Café de Paris will be high on your agenda. No doubt you might also want to visit the Classic Car Collection, visit the clubs and bars and generally pretend you’re the next James Bond.
The obvious Monaco highlight, besides the Monaco Grand Prix, is the Monte Carlo Casino.
Costing 10 euros for entry and requiring “suitable attire” to go into the Casino, this is the gorgeously ornate bastion of the Riviera’s gambling circuit. The mainstream or novice gamblers, there for the experience more than the gambling itself, will head to the European Room to play roulette and blackjack or the less intimidating slot machines in the White Room and the Pink Salon. Then for the more serious gamblers there are private rooms for higher stakes (you need your passport to enter) – costing a further 15 euros to then place stakes of upwards of an 80 euro minimum. With no closing times, you can stay here until the sun comes up, or you run out of money, depending on what cards you have been dealt.
Running alongside the Casino theme, guests who love to head to the Casino will also want to spend evenings sipping cocktails at the Café de Paris and the local hot spot bars such as Jimmy’s or the more modestly price Stars “n” Bars on Quai Antoine I. There will be a review of the local nightlife haunts coming onto the site soon.
Aside from nightlife there is plenty to do and see in Monaco in the day. Strolling through the Place du Palais lego-land square at 11:55 am shouldn’t be missed when the Changing of the Guards takes place. A great surprise, we think, is the Oceanographic Museum with its impressive building and exploration finds led by Prince Albert I. As well as a vast aquarium (one of the best in Europe) there is a lie size model of a sperm whale. Don’t miss the roof terrace for spectacular views across the bay.
The Jardin Exotique also has breathtaking views across Monaco. It is also home to thousands of plants and cacti and worth a visit. Located above the town of Monaco you can get here on any of the number 2 buses which runs around all the stops in Monaco. The Classic car collection at Terrasse de Fontveille is also worth a look. Again, the hop on hop off cheap buses that run around Monaco means all the tourist attractions are very accessible.
Shopping is plentiful in Monaco – of course there are the high end boutiques across the main Monte Carlo strip, but further back there are also more mainstream shops are also situated on the border of Beausoliel.
Shopping for supplies for your rental apartment is easy. One of the main streets of Beausoleil is Boulevard de la Republique lined with restaurants, bars, pavement cafes and shops. Try La Taverne at 10 Boulevard de la Republique for decent Provencal cuisine at around 25 euros for three courses. This is also the home of Beausoleil’s covered market, Gustave Eiffel, open for trade every day between 6am and 1pm.
The nearest beach is the family friendly Larvotto beach in Monaco just in front of Avenue Princess Grace. From any of our rental apartments in Monaco (Beausoleil) you can be at the beach within 10 minutes by accessing one of the many public lifts or stairways which take you down the cliff faces. The free man made beach has great facilities including changing rooms, showers, toilets and kids slides, climbing frames, a volleyball court, kid’s trampoline and a place higher up from the beach for rollerblading and skateboarding as well as good old fashioned bike riding. There are also a variety of eateries and bars around as well as ice-cream stands.
Further above Beausoleil is the pretty bougainvillea village of La Turbie with one of our favourite restaurants on the French Riviera, Hostelliere la Jerome, and its bistro Café de la Fontaine.