Monaco | POSTCARDS
With its opulent Belle Époque architecture in profile against the shimmering Mediterranean Sea, the Casino de Monte-Carlo has long been enticing visitors to Monaco. It was opened in 1863 in a bid to revitalise the newly sovereign principality's economy after it ceded around 95 per cent of its territory – including most of its agricultural land – to neighbouring France. In the years that followed, the casino transformed the tiny locale into a luxurious playground synonymous today with the superyachts that gleam in the port beneath Le Rocher (the Rock of Monaco). The dramatic promontory sets the scene for the legends of the rich and famous that have unfolded here throughout the ages.
Yet the star attraction when I visit on a few blue-sky days in spring is the truly impressive green scene that underpins everyday life here. This is a place where e-bikes, e-cars and even e-boats are the way to get around. And that's when Monégasques aren't nimbly navigating the hilly streets on foot, hopping on and off a network of public elevators and escalators to crisscrossis of paramount importance here; even the finest establishments give food boxes to diners to take away leftovers. At Em Sherif Monte-Carlo within the gilded Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, where the discreet but unmistakable bustle of security personnel tells us we're dining in VIP company, my travel companions and I are offered boxes to take away the sumptuous Lebanese feast we haven't quite been able to finish. And sustainability is stamped on the prestigious motorsport calendar, too. First held in 2015, the Monaco E-Prix is now a fixture of the scene today and races the same legendary circuit as Formula One.
