Monaco is known as a playground for the rich and famous,
boasting grand buildings and plenty of sophisticated fun
Germany. And Madrid ranked very high in
ICCA’s city list.
Madrid rose to 13th place in ICCA’s
annual city rankings, which takes into
account events organized around the world
in 2009. This new position saw Madrid over-
take such key cities as London and Tokyo.
Last year,
Since 2007 the lifestyle magazine Monocle
has published an annual list of livable cit-
ies. The list in 2009 was named “The Most
Livable Cities Index” and presented 25 top
locations for quality of life. In 2010, Madrid
broke the top 10 on the list.
Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations in terms of art museums.
Best known is the Golden Triangle of
Art, located along the Paseo del
Prado and comprised of three
museums. The most famous
one is the Prado Museum,
known for such highlights
as Diego Velázquez’s Las
Meninas and Francisco de
Goya’s La maja vestida and
La maja desnuda. The other
two museums are the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum,
established from a mixed private collection, and the Reina Sofia
Museum, where Pablo Picasso’s
Guernica hangs.
Madrid is also known
for its nightlife, which
emerged with much
vibrancy after the death
of dictator Francisco
Franco, especially in the
1980s, during a cultural
movement called La Mov-
ida Madrilena that centered
around the Plaza del Dos de
Mayo. Nowadays, some of the most
popular nighttime destinations include the
neighborhoods of Bilbao, Tribunal, Alonso
Martinez, and Moncloa, together with the
Puerta del Sol area (including Opera and
d
Gran Via, both adjacent to the popular
square) and Huertas (barrio de Las Letras)
destinations, which are also filled with tourists all day.
—Vincent Alonzo
Monaco
After breathtaking images of the Cote
d’Azur and tuxedoed swells entering its
Belle Epoque-period casino, Monaco is best
known as the land of exotic sports cars and
yachts. These are not only the pastimes of
the rich; they comprise professions for the
purveyors of luxury goods, who exhibit at
Top Marques Monaco (sports cars) and
the Monaco Yacht Show each
year.
acts upon becoming sovereign in 2005 was
signing the Kyoto Protocol), is doing his best
to negotiate the middle ground between eco-responsibility and pricey millionaire’s toys that
run on black gold. Albert is furthering the
cause of marine conservation with the International SeaKeepers Society and the Mediterranean Science Commission, of which he is
president. He encourages yachtsmen to keep
the Cote d’Azur azure and supports analyzes
of the effects of local pollution. He is seeking
solutions to control traffic, noise, and pollution
on land as well. Thus, Monaco’s bus service,
which costs one euro per ride (as opposed to
10 euros for a taxi), is said to be one of the
most efficient in Europe. In August, a new
“bus boat” will take up to 50 passengers across
the harbor for one euro each. The principality
is also adding five new duplex trains to and
from neighboring Nice, France.
Monaco’s venues can also play the green
card. The 146-room Hotel Metropole
recently established a “Green Attitude
Committee,” in partnership with the Prince
Albert II Foundation of Monaco.
Other classic venues include the marvelous Cafe de Paris—located in the Casino
Square, across from the casino and the Hotel
de Paris. It has a rooftop private area that
is both enclosed and under the stars, with
a view to the square and all the glamorous
people who populate it. Downstairs, there
are many opportunities for gaming outside of
the formal casino and the main restaurant of
the Cafe de Paris.
There is a marvelous venue up on the
hillside outside of Monaco, called La Ferme
San Michel. It is a farmhouse on a family-owned and operated farm, which serves
the most fantastic meals at long tables with
aplomb and humor, and musicians and family members’ antics entertain. Staging a cocktail cruise to Villefranche sur Mer, a quaint
fishing village on the Cote d’Azur coast,
where a group disembarks into a waterfront
restaurant called La Mere Germaine for a
stellar meal, is another unforgettable incen-
