Diano Marina – Nice – Monaco – San Remo (Part 3)

The third stop was Monaco, a small but well known country located along the French Riviera. It is one of six microstates in Europe (the other five are Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino and Vatican City).

Monaco, HDR

It is the world’s most densely populated country with a population of just 32′410 and an area of 1.96 square kilometers (second place is Macau and third Hong Kong). It is also a tax haven because there is no income tax for individuals.

Monte Carlo is the wealthiest of Monaco’s areas and probably the best known for it’s casino. The permanent population is about 3000.

Monaco is one of the most expensive places on earth but despite of this fact we enjoyed a Banana Split in front of the casino (it was about 12 Euros).

Casino Monte Carlo, HDR

To gain residency in Monaco you need to live there for six months a year and you also need a bank certificate from one of Monaco’s banks showing a deposit of 400′000 Euros.

Casino Monte Carlo, HDR

Property costs are now higher than in London. A studio for one person and no special view is about one million euros. The square meter is about 27000 Euros (based on abcnews)!

Monaco Trip Details

Diano Marina – Nice – Monaco – San Remo (Part 2)

The second stop on our 4 day trip was Nice, a city in southern France between Marseille and Genoa. It’s the leading resort on the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur) and one of europe’s most fashionable winter retreats. We visited the famous Promenade des Anglais, the flower market and had a relaxing time at the beach.

 Nice / Nizza

On the following picture you can see the Port of Nice with the speed ferry to Corsica and in the back the Monument aux morts and the famous La Prom. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Although I’m not that history interested I think it is still good to know some cornerstones when you travel. It helps to build a better understanding of the culture, the food, the architecture and of course the language. For example was Nice founded by the Greeks of Massilia (Marseille) about 350 BC and has it’s name in honor of a victory over the neighbouring Ligurians (Nike is the Greek goddess of vicory). 200 years later the Romans took control. The popularity of the city grew during the Victorian period when the Englishmen made it their main winter retreat.

The La Promenade des Anglais (“Walk of the English”) was proposed by rich Englishmen in the 18th century. At that time the coast was just borded by a deserted band of beach covered by large pebbles. Houses were well away from the sea. The promenade was first called the Camin dei Anglès (the English Way) by the Niçois in their native dialect Nissart. After the annexation of Nice by France in 1860 it was rechristened La Promenade des Anglais, replacing it’s former Nissart name with it’s french translation (source: Wikipedia).

Nice Trip Details

Diano Marina – Nice – Monaco – San Remo (Part 1)

During the last short trip or – as Tim Ferris would call it – mini retirement we visited the famous Côte d’Azur and Riviera of Flowers. The first stop was Diano Marina where we stayed 3 nights at the Piccolo hotel.

Diano Marina

The Gulf of Diana is one of the most important tourist areas in the Riviera of Flowers and Liguria. The name Diano Marina derives from the ancient devotion to the Roman Goddess Diana. The small town has a 3.5 km long sand beach with lots of bars, restaurants, night clubs, shops and hotels. It is located 90 km southwest of Genoa and it’s population is about 7′000. It borders the following comunes: Diano Castello, Imperia and San Bartolomeo al Mare. For a better overview check out the KMZ file I’ve created.

During these months (September, October) it is not so packed with tourists and the beaches are almost empty. Probably the best time to book a relaxing Riviera trip. On sunny days it’s still warm enough to enjoy a swim.

As you can see on the next picture the first day was a bit cloudy but – to see the positive aspect – I think cloudy skies are more interesting on pictures than just clear blue ones. With some experimentation you can get all the details of the sky without overexposure. In such situations I always use the spot metering to get the right exposure.

Diano Marina, HDR

A storm was coming but the lightning at the horizon was still far away so we took a couple of pictures this afternoon.

Diano Marina Beach, HDR

The next morning most of the clouds were gone and the sunrise beneath the thick cloud wall was amazing.

Ocean, HDR

If you are interested you can download the following KMZ File to watch some of the GPS tracks I recorded in Diano Marina.

Diano Marina Trip Details

There will be also some more pictures in the gallery (the next days).