Real estate Montecarlo

MonteCarlo
Monaco's most compelling attraction is nearby in Avenue St-Martin: the Musee Oceanographique de Monaco, founded in 1910 by Prince Albert .who sankall of his casino profits into a passion for deep-sea exploration.To house the treasures he accumulated in his 24 voyages, he built this museum in acliff, fillingit with instruments, shells,whaleskeletonsand,on the ground floor, a fascinating aquarium where 90 tanks hold some of the most surreal fish ever netted from the briny deep, including a mesmerizing cylindrical tank where thousands of identical fish swim in an endless circling shoal.The rest of the building is taken up with research laboratories, which usedto be headed by Jacques Cousteau, specializing in the study of ocean pollution and radioactivity. You can park directly underneath and get a lift straight up into the museum, butdon't neglecttogoout and look back at this remarkable Belle Epoque building clingingto its cliff, with an 25oft sheer stonefacade.<br />
Besides the path east to Cap Martin (see p.H7), there's another trail that begins on the D53 in Beausoleil, Monaco's French suburb, and ascends to the top of Mont des Mules. A third path, beginning at Fontvieille's Plage Marquet, heads west along the crashing sea to the train station at Cap d'Ail (Cape Garlic). It continues around the cape past more snooty Belle Epoque residences, including Greta Garbo's bolthole, and then drops down a wooded slopeto the little cove of Mala Plage.<br />
Alsoout hereon Cap d'Ail is another jolly Cocteau creation:the Mediterranean Centre for French Studies. A grassy path decorated with stones etched with cavortingfaunsand surreal flowers leads tothe open-airtheatre;based on a classical Greekamphitheatre, it has bold black and white mosaic profiles in the centre of the circular stage, and a wonderful handrail formed by a sinuous gold and turquoise snake to guide the audience to their seats.