b'Luxury cars are the norm. A visit to nearby Cannes is a must. St Paul de Vence is a journey back in time.Monaco (continued from page 61)millions of dollars. The famous Gazometre turn, renamed inThere are several great side trips one can do from Monaco honour of Antony Noghes, the founder of the Monaco GrandA half hour drive takes you to Nice and the Azure Coast. Twenty Prix is right in front of the Fairmont Hotel, and I imagined my- minutes further will set you in the centre of Cannes, where the self challenging the corner in a McLaren GT, or somethingonly stores available are Gucci, Hermes, Cartier and the like. similar. On the way back to Monaco, stop at the 16th Century village Automobile watching is another favourite pastime. I haveof St Paul de Vence, and walk along cobbled stone streets to neverseensomanyLamborghinis,Ferraris,Bentleysandadmire the art and architecture from the middle ages.Rolls Royces in my life. Mercedes, BMWs and Land RoversIf you are travelling to Europe this year and need a few are the poorer cousins, but motorcycles seem to rule the roads. days layover, consider a stop in Monaco, as it will make a The main attraction of the country is of course the casino.lasting impression never to be forgotten.It was built in 1890 in an effort to attract tourists visiting the FrenchRiviera.PrinceRanierI,constructedthebuilding,Jonathan van Bilsen is an award-winning photographer, sparing no cost, and his concept worked, as the wealthiestpublished author, columnist and keynote speaker. travellers of the 19th century flocked to Monte Carlo.Follow his adventures at photosNtravel.comWhen I walked up the stairs to the entrance I was blinded by the glare from luxury autos dropping off their extremely richTRAVEL TIP: owners. I had my twenty Euro note in hand, ready to wager itThe picturesque city of Brugge, in Belgium, has cut the all, only to find out there was an admission fee of ten Euros.number of cruise ships docking in its port from 5 to 2. Needless to say, I lasted about a minute in the casino, andIn an effort to curb tourism, the city will also not allow quickly reverted to a corner to observe the opulence that sur- cruise ships to dock on weekends.rounded me.Monte Carlo is extremely picturesque, safe and very clean.64 FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2019'