Old Dog, New Tricks…. (September 2009)

And they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks…

Monaco has always had a certain cachet for being a glitzy, glamorous destination, but tourists may have been forgiven for thinking that they had got off at the wrong stop in the past if they happened to land in the port looking for food and entertainment. Fortunately for them (and us) things have very much changed.

A few years back, a whole lot of grumbling could be heard on the streets of this little principality as ‘Port Hercules’ (the main harbour of Monaco) started to undergo a major facelift the likes of which even some of our more surgically-enhanced residents had never seen.

Like the majority of people, I assumed this just meant new berths for the plethora of visiting motor yachts & increasingly numerous cruise liners that drop in whilst ploughing up the sparkling Mediterranean en route to Nice, Barcelona and other cities by the sea. The port became a construction zone, and even peering at plans in the local newspapers didn’t seem to make things much clearer. Then suddenly, the ships chandler’s and pokey little supplies shops in need of a coat of paint along the bottom of the port all disappeared…to be replaced with what, we all wondered..?

Just a year ago, the guesswork was over as we began to see the work come to fruition…and what a renaissance…now real nightlife lies beyond the lines of spaceships-turned-super yachts.

Led by the likes of the ‘Brasserie de Monaco‘ the hip micro-brewery already legendary within a year of opening for its happy hour and futuristic decor, the transformation of the bottom of Port Hercules from dowdy port into the place to be for the mandatory after work ‘apero’ was well underway. For both the locals and the massive influx of workers and tourists (Monaco sees its population double during working hours..), the centre of town has finally become central.

Now joined by the sophisticated ‘Zest‘ and the tasty-as-it-sounds ‘PizzArt‘, and with other restaurants & bars popping up in the vicinity by the minute, the port is now a mass of sophisticated summer terraces, water spray fans and glitzy hostesses leading bewildered newbies to their cheap pints and cocktails.

The stalwarts such as the chic beach club ‘Sea Lounge‘ over on the far side of Monaco are no longer the most popular summer hangouts, seemingly far away from the action, and it’s noticeable that the old hands at ‘Stars ‘N’ Bars‘ have also entered the fray with cut price drinks and food. In these financially dubious times, even the most frivolous resident probably enjoys the change racking up in the pocket as price of having fun in Monaco is driven down for the first time in recent memory.

So what does this mean for the punter? Instead of the slightly tatty tourist-trap restaurants and tacky ice cream bars that used to be the only thing open after dark on the port, Monaco has finally got itself a young, fun and easily accessible ’strip’ of bars & eateries to match its young, upwardly-mobile crowd, and finally,..finally it’s possible to have a night out under the sparkling lights and glitz without a gold card or remortgaging the house.

And that’s good news..