On Wednesday 21st February, the markets of Monaco were filled with colour and celebration as families turned out to enjoy the Principality’s Winter Carnival.
Both the Marché de la Condamine and the Marché de Monte-Carlo on Avenue Saint-Charles were alive with laughter and music as parents and their children gathered to watch the dazzling spectacle.
Troupes of stilt walkers, jugglers, contortionists and acrobats put on an excellent show while bubbles filled the air and balloon makers and face painters set up stands in the marketplaces, bringing much delight to the smiling girls and boys who had come along to join in with the fun.
A princess here, a Spiderman there, dragons, Pokémon and unicorns… The children were stars of the show, and many arrived in their favourite fancy dress outfits.
Organised by the Monaco Mairie and spearheaded by local councillor Axelle Amalberti Verdino, who is in charge of Entertainment and Leisure, the carnival is a favourite among families in Monaco and is a wonderful demonstration of the Principality’s dedication to fostering community ties.
To see more from the event, check out our Instagram reel:
As a prelude to the Bal de Rose Gala in March, the renowned mezzo-soprano and the director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Cecilia Bartoli, is to perform at a special sold-out show alongside the internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Lang Lang.
Since they first met back in 2008 at a concert series celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Maria Malibran, Italian opera star Cecilia Bartoli and Chinese pianist Lang Lang have found themselves in a mutually appreciative relationship based on their unequalled high energies, an adoration of nuances and the fact that they both see ‘colours’ in the music they love.
The admiration that the singer and the pianist share for each other has led to the pair performing together on multiple occasions, the latest of which will occur on 23rd March at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
The duo will be performing the opening act for the annual Bal des Roses Gala, the glamourous charity event founded by Princess Grace in 1954, and enterain a full-house with pieces by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and more.
“I am so grateful that we can do this concert together in Monte-Carlo,” says Lang Lang. “I hope that our concert will give people some new inspiration. I would like to imagine that it awakens your other sense of knowing sound- and that it gives you something you never felt before.”
To find out more about this spectacular event, click here.
The Syndicat des Jeux Européens de la Société des Bains de Mer has thrown its support behind two important Monegasque causes: the Centre Scientifique de Monaco’s paediatric brain cancer research study and Princess Stéphanie’s Fight Aids Monaco association.
At a ceremony held in front of the Casino de Monte-Carlo on Tuesday 20th February, the Syndicat des Jeux Européens renewed its support for the works being undertaken by the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM) to learn more about how, why and when brain tumours form in children with a €2,000 cheque. Another €2,000 cheque was also given to representatives of Fight Aids Monaco, which is presided over by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.
The donation to the CSM will help fund the critical research being carried out by its Stem Cells and Brain Tumours team. Led by Dr. Vincent Picco, the team is in the midst of a study that seeks to uncover what causes brain tumours to form in children, with a particular focus on the embryonic stage.
Dr. Picco has expressed his gratitude for the renewed support, saying, “This new donation from the Syndicat des Jeux Européens will help us further refine the genetic characterisation of our research models, which are crucial for understanding paediatric cancerisation at the embryonic stage.”
Beyond the glamour, Monaco is quickly establishing itself as an excellent place to raise a family. It’s safe, the schools are top-quality, healthcare is among the best in the world and there’s a big focus on family-friendly services and events. But given the limited floor space, is there really room in Monaco to welcome families of three, four or more?
If the latest real estate report by IMSEE, Monaco’s dedicated statistical agency, is anything to go by, buyers’ needs are changing in the Principality.
Sales of studios and one-bedroom apartments, which once accounted for a large part of the market, are falling. In their place, demand for much larger properties, from three-bedroom apartments to outsized villas like those promised in the Mareterra district, is booming.
€100 million homes
Unusually for Monaco, not a single real estate development was completed in 2023. The lack of fresh listings limited new build sales last year, but off-plan purchases stepped in to bolster the sector and eventually accounted for two-thirds of the 28 confirmed new sales.
Within this portion of the market, almost half of all sales were for homes with four or more bedrooms, a group including three vast villas that are confirmed to have been sold during the first nine months of 2023. If three-bedroom new build property sales are included, that share rises to 60%.
The inflated proportion of larger family-sized homes that sold last year has had a real effect on the average property price for new builds, which rose spectacularly from €13.5 million in 2022 to €37.1 million in 2023, a near-unbelievable increase of 174.5%.
“In 2023, one in two new builds was sold for more than €28 million,” confirms the IMSEE report. “Six of out of every 10 [properties] sold for more than €20 million.”
At the highest end of the price spectrum, the four new properties that sold during the course of 2023 achieved sales prices in excess of €100 million.
A growing demand – and appreciation – for larger homes
In the resale market – to be understood as pre-existing properties – 388 homes sold in 2023 compared to 433 in 2022, a drop of 10%.
The sales of studio apartments and one-bedroom flats noticed the most severe declines, dropping by 15% and 23% respectively, while the value of one-bedroom homes fell too, by a not-insignificant 31.5%.
In yet another demonstration of the changing tastes of prospective homeowners in Monaco, record prices were recorded in the three-bedroom and four-bedroom-plus categories in 2023. Year-on-year from 2022, these categories swelled in price by 11.1% and 19.4% respectively.
Price per square metre soaring for family-sized property
The price per square metre data also reveals a similar competitive streak.
The average price per square metre of a three-bedroom property rose by 5.1% in 2023 to reach €56,106 – a record high.
Meanwhile, four-bedroom and up properties demanded an average price per square metre of €61,932, a climb of 18.7% year-on-year.
With snow forecast to fall just in time for the school winter holidays, now is the time to book that last minute trip away for you and your family. But where to go?
From the classics of Courchevel, Chamonix, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Méribel and Megève – and many more in-between – in the French Alps to the timeless St. Moritz, Verbier and Gstaad of Switzerland, not forgetting the glorious Cortina d’Ampezzo or Val Gardena in the Dolomites of Italy, luxury resorts are aplenty in this part of Europe and many are only an hour away from Monaco as the helicopter flies.
The lively town centre of Courchevel. Photo source: Courchevel, Facebook
Among these iconic winter sports destinations, each has its own distinct appeal and character.
For a family-friendly atmosphere and activities catering to all age groups, places like Les Arcs, Les Menuires, Cervinia, Morzine and even Davos, which is most well-known for hosting the World Economic Forum, are all good contenders alongside the old favourites.
If you have older children or are looking to get away to somewhere with a party vibe with friends, look no further than Val d’Isère, a place known among the jet-set for its top-quality nightlife, the live music hotspot of Alpe d’Huez or even Verbier, which was voted as the best ski resort in the world by the World Ski Awards a few years ago.
And if it’s a challenge that you’re after, Avoriaz, Chamonix, Andermatt, Zermatt and Verbier are among the more adventurous destinations. For an off-piste experience, La Grave, which is about five hours by road from Monaco, is where it’s at.
La Grave: the pinnacle of black runs and off-piste skiing. Photo source: La Grave, Facebook
For the ultimate in luxury, it has to be Courchevel. This legendary ski haven is already home to numerous top-end hotels and private chalets, such as the award-winning Le K2 Palace, but a new name, a Monaco name, is also in town. At the end of last year, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer announced that it had finalised a deal to buy and renovate the Palace des Neiges.
There’s lots going on more locally to Monaco too. The resorts of Auron, Isola 2000 and Valberg are less than a two-hour drive door-to-door from the Principality, making them a great option for a weekend away.
Limone Piemonte’s Riserva Bianca resort, found just over the border in Italy, is a little further due to ongoing works on the tunnel that connects the authentic Piedmont village with Tende in France, but it is well worth a visit. One of its real strengths is the value for money. The food is generous, the fine wines are inexpensive and the welcome is top-notch.
Back in France, the Val d’Allos is just under two and a half hours from Monaco, but, again, it is worthy of the journey. The ski area, which offers access to La Foux d’Allos, Seignus and Pra Loup, is certainly one of the biggest and most varied in the region, and is very popular with French families thanks to its relaxed and inviting ambience.
The family friendly resort of Val d’Allos is two and a half hours in the car from Monaco. Photo by Monaco Life
The current forecast for the southern Alps suggests snow will begin falling next weekend, while the larger resorts to the north will likely experience snowfall on and off throughout the week.
For the latest weather predictions in the mountains, click here.
Check out our Instagram reel featuring Val d’Allos below:
Six pharmacies in the French territory surrounding Monaco have been selected to participate in an experimental national programme offering rapid and anonymous HIV screening tests. These tests provide fast results without any upfront payment for concerned individuals.
Confidential and delivering near-immediate results, HIV rapid screening tests can now be carried out at six pharmacies in Menton, Cap d’Ail, and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, making them the first in France to offer this testing system.
The scheme, launched by the French government in October, is a precursor to what is anticipated to become a nationwide roll-out in future.
“The project will initially be deployed on an experimental basis in certain areas of the Alpes-Maritimes, before a potential extension to other territories, less equipped with medical resources, depending on the results,” says a representative for Objectif Sida Zéro, a Nice-based association that supports people in the region living with HIV and AIDS. “This new lever for action will bring the region even closer to the ambitious objective of ending the transmission of HIV.”
The tests can be accessed anonymously and without the need for a prescription. Results are provided free-of-charge.
For more information about the testing system, click here.
