Google Sightseeing » Monaco

The Principality of Monaco

Kyle Kusch — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:36:52 +0000

When last we visited Monaco, well, we couldn’t actually get right into the world’s most densely populated country, as the Street View car was forced to stop as soon as it crossed over from France. And on our previous visit, we quickly glanced over the famed Monaco Grand Prix from above.

We celebrate today, however, for the principality has finally been added to the Street View roster, allowing us to get past the iconic gate posts and explore all 1.98 sq km (0.76 sq mi) of the entire country.

Being a principality, Monaco naturally has a Prince’s Palace, the official residence of Prince Albert and Princess Charlene which sits atop the Rock of Monaco. Dating back to 1191, the palace not only remains the centre of all monarchical business, but also serves as a living museum with many of its rooms open to the public. The courtyard is a popular gathering spots for open-air concerts.

Monaco is certainly known for its opulence (the nominal GDP per capita here is an astounding US$186,000), and perhaps nothing personifies that opulence more than the famed Casino Monte Carlo, which opened in 1863. The world-famous casino featured in multiple James Bond movies is primarily owned by the Monegasque government. Since then, numerous other casinos have opened up in Monaco, but this one remains the hallmark. Interestingly, citizens of Monaco are not allowed in the gaming rooms; only foreigners and non-citizen residents.

The casino is surrounded by large hotels, many of which are also government-owned. Right next door to the casino is the regal Hotel de Paris, which also opened in 1863.

One of the most iconic scenes in Monaco is the sight of the hundreds of boats in Port-Hercule, the country’s main harbour. Street View goes right onto the dock to give us an up-close look at some very pricey yachts and pleasure crafts. A turn back toward the shore shows off the skyline of the densely-packed waterfront with the Tête de Chien promontory rising above the city-state in the background.

The showcase event for the principality each year is the Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious of all Formula 1 auto races. Former world champion driver Nelson Piquet claimed driving the tight, twisting street circuit was like “riding a bicycle around your living room”. The twisty nature of Monaco’s street is personified by the infamous Mirabeau complex just north of the casino. Coming out of Mirabeau corner, drivers enter the hairpin turn at the Fairmont Monte Carlo Hotel, the tightest, slowest corner in all of Formula 1. It’s so tight that the rumble kerbs are left on the street year-round and permanently bear the marks of racing tyres.

The track then goes under the Fairmont through the famous tunnel on Louis II Boulevard known to millions of television viewers around the world (it’s the only F1 circuit with a tunnel directly on the racing line) before emerging onto the waterfront and the fastest part of the course, the Swimming Pool straight. Unfortunately, the pool it’s named for was empty when Street View came calling.

Speaking of tunnels, Monaco has numerous road tunnels underlying the city-state for nearly its entire length. The ground underneath Monaco is so densely packed with tunnels that there are even roundabouts joining different tunnels together!

That’s just scratching the surface (and a little bit below the surface) of Monaco. Get exploring and see what other goodies you can find!

Locations: Monaco / Categories: Buildings, Stadiums and Sport, Street Views, Structures, Watercraft

View in Google Earth

Stuck at the Border

Kyle Kusch — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:15:02 +0000

More than three years in, Google has amassed a healthy roster of countries covered by Street View. Entering 2011, 27 countries plus Antarctica have been at least partially traversed by camera, with many more on the horizon. Alas, there are still those places where the Street View cars must turn around at the border – but sometimes the cameras get close enough to give us a glimpse at what lies on the other side.

Take Monaco, for instance, where the cameras approach the eastern border only to be greeted with this giant abstract sculpture at the crossing (or is that just Monaco giving a massive middle-finger to Google’s camera?).

The western entrance to Monaco is quite stunning, with the road descending into the principality as cliffs loom overhead.

Moving south into the Pyrenees, we reach the border of Andorra, where we can sneak a peek into the ski resort of Pas de la Casa, including some oddly-coloured apartments on the hillside.

For sheer impressiveness, however, it’s hard to beat the sight of the Rock of Gibraltar looming over the Spanish border at La Linea while a thunderstorm prepares to hit overhead:

The prize for ‘Most Ornate Entrance Captured on Street View’ might have to go to the border between Rimini, Italy and Serravalle, San Marino, where the microstate has constructed a pedestrian overpass and an observation tower for tourists, leading into a major shopping district. The other main entrance to San Marino would probably be described as ‘quaint’ by comparison.

The absurdly complicated Dutch-Belgian border at Baarle (documented previously on Google Sightseeing) is likely to have presented special challenges to the Street View team. However, they have cleverly managed to avoid publishing any images captured on Belgian soil – despite examples such as this, where the camera car must drive from Holland at one end of the block, across a tiny sliver of Belgium, and back to Holland at the other end.

Baarle’s not the only town cut in half in Street View. Here’s a place where you park in France to dine at a cafe in Luxembourg:

Near the tri-point of Italy, Austria and Slovenia, we get this multi-national flag arrangement at an old Austrian customs building. Further into the Alps, the Street View car camera ends its trip at the ski resort of Nassfeld, where one of the ski lifts lies right next to a field of grazing cattle.

The lone glimpse of Russian soil captured so far on Street View is the view across a small lake from Norway (the only place you can actually drive south into Russia from), where we get a blurry view of a building on a hill overlooking the lake. Hmm, a regular house, or a Cold War spy shanty? You be the judge…

South Africa is the only African country so far visited by Street View, but sadly most of the border shots are not particularly notable. For example, the images simply stop by a fence on the middle of the road at the border with Swaziland, while the border with Botswana couldn’t be any more different, merely possessing a single stop sign.

We end our forbidden borderland odyssey with a glimpse from Singapore across the Straits of Johor to downtown Johor Bahru.

With luck, one day we’ll be able to get a glimpse beyond those borders as Street View continues to roll out coverage in countries across the globe. (Then we can finally find out just what it is they’re trying to hide from us…)

Locations: Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Crown Dependencies, France, Italy, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Street Views, Structures

View in Google Earth

Street Circuits – Part 1

Chris Hannigan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:28:43 +0000

Once a year, streets all over the world transform into professional racing circuits to play host to some the greatest drivers and cars in the world. Parking lots are turned into paddocks, parks are remodelled with grandstands, and intersections on the road become high-speed overtaking points in battles for world championships. Local governments often use these events to promote tourism on the worldwide stage and races can often inject millions of dollars in revenue into the surrounding communities.

Let’s take a look at some of the more unique street circuits around the world…

1. Monte Carlo, Monaco – Since 1929, the streets of Monte Carlo have been home to a motor race each year, and today the principality is home to Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix. A lap around the 3.34 km (2.075 mi) circuit goes directly underneath the Grand Hotel via a tunnel and ricochets around a swimming pool next to the city’s harbour. The track continues to hold events each year in late May.

2. Norisring, Nuremberg, Germany – Built on top of former Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg, this track is 2.3 km (1.4 mi) in length and uses the grandstand from Zeppelin Field as it’s centrepiece. The track is host to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series and the Formula 3 Euro Series each year.

3. Cleveland, Ohio, USA – The Grand Prix of Cleveland was held from 1982 to 2007 on the fully functioning Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. The airport had to be shut down once a year for a week to get converted into a 10-turn racetrack. Traces of the track are hard to see these days on Google Maps, but if you look closely you can see some tires stacked up near turn 8, various asphalt patches along the racing line on the taxiways (used to try and smooth out the bumpy track for the lightweight race cars), and some tire tracks from the pit stalls. Races are rumoured to return in 2010 but nothing has been announced yet.

Keep an eye out for follow-up posts on more street circuits around the world, including some that you can lap with the Street View car! Stay tuned!

Locations: Germany, Monaco, Ohio / Categories: Stadiums and Sport

View in Google Earth