OUR NEXT scheduled port was Monaco. This cruise was called "Spain and The Italian Riviera." According to most definitions, "riviera" derives from Italian and means "coastline." The term mainly references the coast of southern France (most often referred to as "The French Riviera") and western Italy (known as Liguria). I am not sure how often ships stop right at Monaco. This was certainly a first for us.
WE JOINED a private excursion this day and it was well worth it (in 2022, we would return to Monaco from Cannes by train for a different experience). Had we not done this excursion, I might have been disappointed in the 2022 visit. As it was, the two complimented each other quite nicely.
AFTER TENDERING (Monaco is very small and is definitely going to be a tender port for any cruise ship that does stop there) to shore, we met our driver. Our group was 6 people. It is a nice sized group as you get a lot of one-to-one interaction with the guide. Our guide was really good. A French citizen, he was very knowledgeable about the area. Though we met our driver right in Monaco, most of our tour of it would ultimately be last part of our tour. There was a public transportation (train) strike that day, and he thought it would be a good idea for us to go to our other destinations first, because of anticipated traffic congestion.
OUR FIRST destination was Nice ("neese" - I mean yeah, it was nice, but it is Nice). 😎 On our ride west, we learned a bit about Monaco, the second smallest sovereign nation in the world (after the Vatican). Monaco is known as a principality (hence, the royal Grimaldi family, including among others, Prince Rainier and the current, Prince Albert). Bordered by both France and Italy, and situated in the heart of the French Riviera, it is also certainly one of the wealthiest nations in the world. There is no income tax and very low business taxes. It is said that approximately 1/3 of its residents are millionaires. Its economic growth was started in the mid to late 1800's with the construction of the Monte Carlo casino. Prio to that time, it was small and did not have many improvements. Along with the casino, a direct rail line to Paris was built. These two factors were the start of its transformation to what is perhaps the world's best known "playground for the rich and famous."
Monaco is perhaps the world's best known "Playground for the Rich and Famous"
AT THAT time, Nice was probably the nearest major city. Monaco's official language is French, and many of the day workers in the principality are French citizens and residents (most of whom could not begin to afford to live within Monaco, even if they could otherwise qualify for residency or citizenship).
NICE, AS I noted above, was nice. A historically strategic port, Nice is best known for its status as a (probably at one time "the") premiere resort town on the French Riviera. The Cote de Azur' (the French description of the riviera - translated roughly: "the azure coast") is known for its temperate, warm year-round climate, and its beautiful beaches and shoreline. The so-called "French Riviera" is a stretch of seacoast from St. Tropez to the west, all the to the Italian border, including such notable locations as St. Tropez, Cannes, and Monaco (really, the beautiful seacoast and immensely popular French towns stretch even further to the west, at least to Marseille). To the north, there are natural mountains and parks that are spectacular. We would see some of that on our return to the French Riviera in 2022. For this trip, our visit was specifically to the "Old Nice" portion of the city - presumably where it all started. On the way, we did stop at an impressive overlook, which gave us a nice panoramic of the Nice Port/Harbor.
"OLD NICE," as it is known today, it in the center of the municipality of Nice, down on the waterfront in the heart of the riviera. There, the old historical buildings and streets have been largely preserved. Today, what we might call "The Greater Nice" area boasts a population of nearly 1 million. About 8 miles from Monaco, I suspect the majority of commuters to Monaco for work probably live within this area. In 2022, when we took the train from Cannes to Monaco, I noted that there were 3 successive "Nice" stops on the way.
BY THE mid-1800's Nice - largely because of its mild winter climate - had become a popular spot for wealthy European families to spend their winters. These winter-vacationers also included European royalty, the most notable of whom perhaps were Queen Victoria, and her son, Edward VII, who often wintered there. But the area attracted other notables and celebrities, such as artists, Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse, and scientist, Henry Cavendish (noted for his discovery of Hydrogen).
EVEN ROYALTY outside of Europe became aware of and developed an affinity for Nice. Both Prince Nicholas Alexdandrovich (heir apparent to the Tzar of Russia) and Princess Catherine Dulgorukova (wife of Tsar Alexander II of Russia) died and were buried in Nice. But these "modern" developments didn't happen until the late 18th Century, following some tumultuous history. Perhaps one of Nice' most famous landmarks is The Promenade de Anglais ("The English Walk"), a pedestrian walkway along the sea, named for its popularity with the British Royalty. Nice was at one time highly populated by Italian citizens and for many years, its official language was Italian. After the annexation by France in 1960, the language was changed to French, but not without some displeasure from the Italian denizens. Around 11,000 of them left Nice and moved to Italian towns near the border. During the many years since Nice was first founded, multiple ethnic and national groups populated the city, which it quite diverse today. Along with the diversity, sometimes comes unwanted attention and activity. Most probably remember the 2016 Islamic Terrorist who drove a truck onto the pedestrian walkway on a July evening, killing 86 people, and injuring more than 400. The area was more crowded than usual, as the residents were celebrating Bastille Day. Sadly, for me, when I learned we were visiting Nice, that was the one thing I knew/remembered about it. Thankfully, I have learned since, what a wonderful place it is. We walked part of the Promenade near the end of our visit to Nice. It is beautiful.
DURING THE Middle Ages, control of Nice alternated between Italy and France. Near the end of the 14th Century, Nice became voluntarily under the protection of the Duchy of Savoy (eventually becoming part of the nation of France). Nice' history is interesting, and though too complex for here, worth a "Google," and "Wikipedia" read or two. In short, at the time they came within its control, Savoy was a county on the (now) French-Italian border. Originally a state of The Holy Roman Empire, Savoy's ultimate national affiliation would not come until many years later. The Holy Roman Emperor first deemed it a Duchy of the Empire in 1416. Savoy existed as its own sovereign country (subject, of course to the Holy Roman Empire) until 1860. During that period, its own control alternated mainly between Italy, France, Sardinia and Sicily. Under the 1860 Treaty of Turin, Savoy was annexed to France. Over those many years much warfare covered the area, including the town of Nice. In spite of its strong defenses and well defended port, it was pretty much demolished and later rebuilt, and there are medieval ruins (we did not visit them) in portions of the city.
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