Monoco - Living it up in Billionaire's Bay
Summer 2009
Barely 15km of the Mediterranean separates the two most expensive streets in the world in what is undisputedly Billionaire’s Bay.
Wealth Bulletin’s recent report found that real estate in Monaco’s Ave Princesse Grace is the most expensive in the world ($120,000 per sq/m) closely followed by Chemin de Sainte-Hospice ($100,000 per sq/m) in St Jean Cap Ferrat, just across the bay. It’s no bargain in between with Bono having a huge house on the water’s edge in Eze.
One thing lacking in this titanium triangle is sand. The beaches are all pebbled which makes for bumpy sunbathing unless you have a lounger, or a yacht. Lunchtime dining is at St Jean’s Paloma Beach, which sits directly below Sainte-Hospice. It’s a surprisingly scruffy establishment, which specialises in expensive fresh fish displayed on ice in an old fishing boat (€75 for a whole grilled Sea Bass). The clientele did not seem to ooze affluence. Perhaps the neighbouring super rich prefer to dine by their own pools or take their yachts down the coast to the more glitzy and altogether more impressive Club 55 in St Tropez.
Dinner is served at nearby La Voile D’Or, a hotel with a Gourmet restaurant overlooking the St Jean marina with views beyond to Eze village ,which is perched 1300 feet above the Mediterranean. The menu, as is often the case in France, pushes one towards the ‘Set Menu’ of the day. A 5 course banquet was priced at €90 whereas a quick calculation of the various dishes bought separately from the á la carte menu took the bill to around €200. The starter, rocket leaves with carpaccio of truffle and Granny Smith apples, was €60 alone and very disappointing. Indeed the whole meal was a let down; unusually large portions but lacking in subtlety and flavours.
The big night out is Monte Carlo. Start with a G&T in the American Bar at Hotel de Paris before moving on to dinner at Ramboldi, just across Casino Square Gardens. Securing a table at Ramboldi, if you are not in with the in-crowd, is as difficult as getting a table at Le Caprice if you don’t know Jesus (the maitre ‘d). Anyone who really is in the mood for splashing out, or simply showing off, will order caviar, which appears as three eggshells topped with the back stuff. The egg is scrambled with cream, placed back in its shell and served with a sprinkling of caviar. The price? €150.
Continue your evening with a stroll to the Casino where many have nonchalantly lost more than their Gucci shirt. A raconteur tells of how, in the 1920s, a crafty character would coax distraught punters to part with their watches before jumping into the harbour. Eighty years later new cunning seducers are relieving despondent Monaco males of their wealth. They are blonde, come from Russia and accept American Express, and are in abundance at Sass Café; on Ave Princesse Grace.
David Coulthard says it’s his favourite nightclub, Bono celebrated his birthday there with Brad & Angelina, and the web site is a ‘who’s who’ gallery of sport and showbiz stars, all photographed with the aging bespectacled male with wild grey hair who is Sass. A table inside is the hotspot all crave but sadly space is limited and, even being Sass’ best friend (he seems to have many) will still have you joining the masses on the pavement where the tables seem to go on and on forever. The food is not expensive but if you drink bubbles expect to pay several hundred Euros for a bottle. Sass is all about music, and dancing goes on long into the night.
Who says Monaco is dull!
Wealth Bulletin’s recent report found that real estate in Monaco’s Ave Princesse Grace is the most expensive in the world ($120,000 per sq/m) closely followed by Chemin de Sainte-Hospice ($100,000 per sq/m) in St Jean Cap Ferrat, just across the bay. It’s no bargain in between with Bono having a huge house on the water’s edge in Eze.
One thing lacking in this titanium triangle is sand. The beaches are all pebbled which makes for bumpy sunbathing unless you have a lounger, or a yacht. Lunchtime dining is at St Jean’s Paloma Beach, which sits directly below Sainte-Hospice. It’s a surprisingly scruffy establishment, which specialises in expensive fresh fish displayed on ice in an old fishing boat (€75 for a whole grilled Sea Bass). The clientele did not seem to ooze affluence. Perhaps the neighbouring super rich prefer to dine by their own pools or take their yachts down the coast to the more glitzy and altogether more impressive Club 55 in St Tropez.
Dinner is served at nearby La Voile D’Or, a hotel with a Gourmet restaurant overlooking the St Jean marina with views beyond to Eze village ,which is perched 1300 feet above the Mediterranean. The menu, as is often the case in France, pushes one towards the ‘Set Menu’ of the day. A 5 course banquet was priced at €90 whereas a quick calculation of the various dishes bought separately from the á la carte menu took the bill to around €200. The starter, rocket leaves with carpaccio of truffle and Granny Smith apples, was €60 alone and very disappointing. Indeed the whole meal was a let down; unusually large portions but lacking in subtlety and flavours.
The big night out is Monte Carlo. Start with a G&T in the American Bar at Hotel de Paris before moving on to dinner at Ramboldi, just across Casino Square Gardens. Securing a table at Ramboldi, if you are not in with the in-crowd, is as difficult as getting a table at Le Caprice if you don’t know Jesus (the maitre ‘d). Anyone who really is in the mood for splashing out, or simply showing off, will order caviar, which appears as three eggshells topped with the back stuff. The egg is scrambled with cream, placed back in its shell and served with a sprinkling of caviar. The price? €150.
Continue your evening with a stroll to the Casino where many have nonchalantly lost more than their Gucci shirt. A raconteur tells of how, in the 1920s, a crafty character would coax distraught punters to part with their watches before jumping into the harbour. Eighty years later new cunning seducers are relieving despondent Monaco males of their wealth. They are blonde, come from Russia and accept American Express, and are in abundance at Sass Café; on Ave Princesse Grace.
David Coulthard says it’s his favourite nightclub, Bono celebrated his birthday there with Brad & Angelina, and the web site is a ‘who’s who’ gallery of sport and showbiz stars, all photographed with the aging bespectacled male with wild grey hair who is Sass. A table inside is the hotspot all crave but sadly space is limited and, even being Sass’ best friend (he seems to have many) will still have you joining the masses on the pavement where the tables seem to go on and on forever. The food is not expensive but if you drink bubbles expect to pay several hundred Euros for a bottle. Sass is all about music, and dancing goes on long into the night.
Who says Monaco is dull!
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
