Art shows and opulence aren’t always synonymous with each other, but when it comes to hosting a fine arts exhibition in Europe’s “playground for the rich and famous,” the curators behind Art Monaco aim to mirror the elegance and beauty of their setting. Now in its seventh edition, which is set to run from April 28 through May 1, Art Monaco is not just a tightly screened showcase for the most esteemed names of the art world, but also a social gathering for its most influential figures, all set on the glitzy French Riviera.
Art Monaco'16 is itself bidding to be the place “where art meets glamor” and since debuting in 2008 has been showcasing art across the mediums of sculpture; photography; antiques; acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings; and hand-crafted furniture and jewelry. The Principality of Monaco though has plenty to see outside the fair too, and here at Culture+Travel we’ve selected our essentials not to be missed:
The history of Monaco is deeply tied with The Prince's Palace (98015, Monaco, + 377 93 25 18 31), where the same family has ruled from for over 700 years. Built originally as a Genoese fortress, it has an unusual history for buildings of its type in Europe. While other rulers built luxurious Baroque and Renaissance palaces, the Monegasque lords and princes needed a practical defensive structure to protect their tiny nation.
In the 19th and 20th Centuries though, the family seemingly made up for centuries of protecting themselves, becoming a symbol for decadence and glamor that was fully realized when US movie star Grace Kelly became chatelaine in 1956. Visitors can enter the State Apartments from March through October, where the gallery walls hold frescoes of mythological figures created by Francesco Mazzuchelli and Orazio Ferrari in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Monaco’s modernist reformer Prince Albert I inaugurated the Oceanographic Museum (Avenue Saint-Martin - Monaco-Ville , +377 93 15 36 00) back in 1910, an institution constructed on the mythical Rock of Monaco which would see renowned explorer and conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau direct its exhibitions for more than three decades from 1957 to 1988.
Behind its Baroque Revival façade are a collection of sea fauna and species from starfish to seahorses, sharks to sea cucumbers, but in recent years it has even become host to land-dwellers too – Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, Mark Dion and Huang Yong Ping have all exhibited here.
Plants from Mexico had been imported to Monaco since the mid-19th Century, and it was Prince Albert I again who decided to formalize the State Gardens into a public space with footbridges and a director, Louis Vatrican running The Exotic Gardens (Boulevard Du Jardin Exotique, +377 93 15 29 80) from 1933 through 1969.
A garden specializing in succulent plants – ones that have adapted to dry climates by holding water in leafs or stems – expect to find cacti and exotic flowering plants from South Africa, Eastern Arabia and the South West of the United States. The gardeners also discovered a grotto used by prehistoric humans which can be visited with guides.
