Monte Carlo Explained

Monte Carlo
Native Name:
Settlement Type:Quarter and ward
Mapsize:300px
Pushpin Map:Europe
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in relation to Europe
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Monaco
Government Type:Principality
Leader Title1:Prince of Monaco
Leader Name1:Albert II
Established Title:Established
Established Date:1 June 1866
Area Urban Km2:0.281
Area Urban Sq Mi:0.109
Population Total:15,200 (in the quarter)
 3,500 (in the ward)
Coordinates:43.7397°N 7.4272°W
Postal Code Type:Postcode
Postal Code:98000

Monte Carlo (pronounced as /it/; French: Monte-Carlo, pronounced as /fr/; or colloquially French: Monte-Carl, pronounced as /fr/; Munte Carlu, ˈmuŋte ˈkaɾlu/;) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter (corresponding to the former municipality of Monte Carlo), which besides Monte Carlo/Spélugues also includes the wards of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins and Saint Michel. The permanent population of the ward of Monte Carlo is about 3,500, while that of the quarter is about 15,000. Monaco has four traditional quarters. From west to east they are: Fontvieille (the newest), Monaco-Ville (the oldest), La Condamine, and Monte Carlo.

Monte Carlo is situated on a prominent escarpment at the base of the Maritime Alps along the French Riviera. Near the quarter's western end is the "world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling center ... that has made Monte Carlo an international byword for the extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth".[1] It is also the location of the Hôtel de Paris, Café de Paris and Salle Garnier (the casino theatre which is the home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo). The quarter's eastern part includes the community of Larvotto with Monaco's only public beach, as well as its new convention center (the Grimaldi Forum), and the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. At the quarter's eastern border, one crosses into the French town of Beausoleil (sometimes referred to as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur), and 8km (05miles) to its east is the western border of Italy.

History

See main article: History of Monaco. In 1856, Charles III of Monaco granted a concession to Napoleon Langlois and Albert Aubert, to establish a sea-bathing facility for the treatment of various diseases, and to build a German-style casino.[2]

The initial casino opened in La Condamine in 1862, but was unsuccessful. It relocated several times, before reaching its present location in the "Les Spélugues" (The Caves) area of Monte Carlo. Success came slowly, largely because Monaco was inaccessible from much of Europe. The railway, installed in 1868, brought with it an influx of people, and Monte Carlo grew in wealth.[2]

Saint-Charles Church on Monte Carlo's Avenue Sainte-Charles was completed in 1883. It was restored in its centenary year.[3] [4]

The municipality of Monte Carlo was created in 1911, when the constitution divided the principality of Monaco into three municipalities. Monte Carlo encompassed the existing neighborhoods of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins, and Saint Michel. The municipalities merged in 1917, after accusations that the government used them to "divide and conquer". Since then, they became wards. Today, Monaco is divided into 9 wards, which are grouped into 4 quartiers.

The quarter of Monte Carlo was served by tramways from 1898 to 1931. It linked all parts of Monaco (see transportation in Monaco). In 2003 a new cruise ship pier was completed in the harbour at Monte Carlo.

Geography

Monte Carlo has an area of 28.14 hectares (or 0.28 square kilometers) and faces the Mediterranean Sea, bordered to the west by Ravin de Sainte-Dévote and La Condamine, and to the east by La Rousse and Larvotto.

Climate

Monte Carlo has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), which is influenced by oceanic climate and humid subtropical climate. As a result, it has warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.[5]

Colspan=14Climate data for Monte Carlo
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Average sea temperature °C (°F)13.4
(56.2)
13.0
(55.5)
13.4
(56.1)
14.6
(58.4)
18.0
(64.3)
21.8
(71.3)
23.1
(73.6)
23.6
(74.4)
22.2
(71.9)
19.6
(67.2)
17.4
(63.3)
14.9
(58.9)
17.9
(64.3)
Mean daily daylight hours9.010.012.013.015.015.015.014.012.011.010.09.012.1
Average Ultraviolet index1245788753214.4
Colspan=14 style="background:#f8f9fa;font-weight:normal;font-size:95%;"Source: Weather Atlas

Sport

Monte Carlo is home to an ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament during the clay court season usually played during the end of March through mid to late April. Monte Carlo is a popular tax haven for many tennis professionals and home to many active and retired athletes. Monte Carlo is host to most of the Circuit de Monaco, on which the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix takes place. It also hosts world championship boxing bouts, the European Poker Tour Grand Final and the World Backgammon Championship as well as the Monaco International Auto Show (Fr: Salon International de l'Automobile de Monaco[6]), fashion shows and other events. Although the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament is billed as taking place in the community, its actual location is in the adjacent French commune of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. The Monte Carlo Rally is one of the longest running and most respected car rallies; from 1973 to 2008 and again from 2012, it marks the start of World Rally Championship season, having also served as the curtain-raiser for the Intercontinental Rally Challenge between 2009 and 2011. The rally, however, takes place outside the Monte Carlo quarter and is run mostly on French roads.

Tourism

Monte Carlo has been visited by royalty as well as the public and movie stars for decades. Monte Carlo is one of Europe's leading tourist resorts, although many of the key tourist destinations are in other parts of Monaco, including such attractions as Monaco Cathedral, the Napoleon Museum, the Oceanographic Museum and aquarium, and the Prince's Palace, all of which are in Monaco-Ville.

Salle Garnier

See main article: Opéra de Monte-Carlo. The Opéra de Monte-Carlo or Salle Garnier was built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier, who also designed the Paris opera house now known as the Palais Garnier. Although much smaller, the Salle Garnier is very similar in style with decorations in red and gold, and frescoes and sculptures all around the auditorium. It was inaugurated on 25 January 1879 with a performance by Sarah Bernhardt dressed as a nymph. The first opera performed there was Robert Planquette's Le Chevalier Gaston on 8 February 1879, and that was followed by three more in the first season.

Other famous twentieth-century singers to appear at Monte Carlo included Titta Ruffo, Geraldine Farrar, Mary Garden, Tito Schipa, Beniamino Gigli, Claudia Muzio, Georges Thill, and Lily Pons.

Hôtel de Paris

See main article: Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo.

The Hôtel de Paris, established in 1864 by Charles III of Monaco, is located on the west side of the Place du Casino in the heart of Monte Carlo. It belongs to the Société des bains de mer de Monaco (SBM), and is part of the elite Palace Grand Hotels in Monaco with the Hotel Hermitage, the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel, Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, the Hotel Metropole and Fairmont hotel.

The hotel has 106 rooms divided into four groups based on type of view, decoration and luxury.[7] The Exclusive City View offers 20 rooms, the Superior Courtyard has 29 large rooms, the Exclusive Sea View 59 and the Exclusive Casino has six.

Additionally, there are 74 suites and junior suites which are grouped similarly, offering more luxury than the rooms. There are single and double suites as well as courtyard junior suites and Sea/Casino Junior suites.[7] There is also one Presidential suite.[8]

In October 2014, a renovation project began, to create a garden courtyard, add a new spa, fitness and pool area, exceptional suites, and a “rooftop villa” with a private garden and pool.[9]

Cultural depictions

Monte Carlo has been the setting of many films, books, television shows, and video games.

Films

Literature

Music

Television

Video games

Twin cities

Monaco's twin cities are:

People

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Monaco" in The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition (Chicago, 1991), vol. 8, p. 243.
  2. Web site: History of Monte Carlo Casino. 23 March 2009. Craps Dice Control.
  3. Web site: Monuments. Visit Monaco – Monuments. Visit Monaco. 23 August 2014.
  4. Web site: English Community. Saint-Charles Church. 25 August 2014.
  5. Web site: Monaco weather, climate and geography . Worldtravelguide.net . 6 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120821004256/http://www.worldtravelguide.net/monaco/weather-climate-geography . 21 August 2012 . dead .
  6. Web site: 1er Salon International de l'Automobile de Monaco – 2017. 1er salon international de l'automobile de Monaco. fr-FR. 4 April 2016.
  7. Web site: Luxury hotel rooms and luxurious suites in the Hotel de Paris . En.hoteldeparismontecarlo.com . 2 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070216071456/http://en.hoteldeparismontecarlo.com/-Rooms-Suites-.html . 16 February 2007 .
  8. Web site: Palace Hotel de Paris in Monte-Carlo . En.hoteldeparismontecarlo.com . 2 July 2010.
  9. Web site: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, Hotels, restaurants, casinos in Monaco . www.montecarlosbm.com.
  10. Web site: The Grand Duke Plot Summary. www.gsarchive.net.
  11. Web site: Monte Carlo. gsarchive.net.
  12. Web site: La Dame de Monte-Carlo (Cocteau, set by (Francis Poulenc)) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music). www.lieder.net.
  13. Web site: Lyrics containing the term: monte carlo. www.lyrics.com.
  14. Web site: monte carlo song – Google Search. www.google.com. 28 May 2020.
  15. Web site: JUMELAGE OOSTENDE MONACO (1958) | deplate.be. www.deplate.be.
  16. Web site: Monaco celebrates the 10th anniversary of its twinning with Lucciana. 17 September 2019.
  17. Web site: US Open – Victoria Azarenka Player Profile.
  18. Web site: Marin Cilic – Overview. atptour.com.
  19. Web site: Grigor Dimitrov – Overview. atptour.com.
  20. Web site: Novak Djokovic – Overview. atptour.com.
  21. Web site: ExclusiveGP. 30 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130615220100/http://www.exclusivegp.com/our-blog/monaco-grand-prix/famous-people-from-monaco-who-lives-in-monaco. 15 June 2013. dead.
  22. Web site: Formuła 1. Grupa Wirtualna Polska. sportowefakty.wp.pl.
  23. Web site: US Open – Petra Kvitova Player Profile. usopen.org.
  24. Web site: Daniil Medvedev – Overview. atptour.com.
  25. News: Laughton . Max . They represent Australia, but this is why Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur 'reside' in The Bahamas . 12 May 2023 . Fox Sports . 10 January 2020 . en.
  26. Web site: AO – Lucie Safarova. ausopen.com.
  27. Web site: Ringo Moves To Monte Carlo To Avoid Tax Laws. World Entertainment News Network. Contactmusic.com. 30 June 2005 .
  28. Web site: Bernard Tomic – Overview. atptour.com.
  29. Web site: Alexander Zverev – Overview. atptour.com.
  30. Web site: Mischa Zverev – Overview. atptour.com.