Veuve Clicquot Sun Club returns to Monaco’s Square Beaumarchais

The pop-up Veuve Clicquot Sun Club is back in the Square Beaumarchais with a fresh, pure white look, its signature yellow-striped parasols and the new Rich and Rich Rosé cuvées from the world-famous maison. 

With the return of warm spring sunshine to the Principality, now is the perfect time to sample Veuve Clicquot’s latest releases of its Rich and Rich Rosé cuvées.  

The chic champagne pop-up is located less than a minute’s walk from the Place du Casino. Situated in the verdant Square Beaumarchais, it is the ideal place to stop off and enjoy a glass or two of bubbles as well as a sweet or savoury snack from the bar after an afternoon of sightseeing or shopping in Monte-Carlo.  

The pop-up is benefitting from a refreshed look in 2024, with a pure white aesthetic and a refined sense of elegance and art de vivre courtesy of a collaboration with the Marcel Poulain Studio. 

The Veuve Clicquot Sun Club is open seven days a week from 12pm until 8pm. It will remain in place until 30th September. 

Check out our Instagram reel below to see more: 

Read related:

Presenting Monte-Carlo SBM’s Route des Grands Crus 

 

Join theMonaco Lifecommunity – sign up for theMonaco Lifenewsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedInandTik Tok. 

 

Photo source: Hotel Hermitage

Prince Albert II commemorates family ties during visit to Mayenne

Monaco’s Prince Albert II travelled to Mayenne in the northwest of France earlier this week to welcome the pretty town into the Grimaldi Historic Sites network.  

On Sunday 5th and Monday 6th May, Prince Albert swapped Monaco for Mayenne by travelling north to peaceful French town that sits between Normandy and the Loire Valley.  

The Prince is actually the Duke of Mayenne due to a 1777 marriage between Prince Honoré IV and Louise d’Aumont Mazarin, the Duchess of Mayenne. 

This centuries-old link qualifies Mayenne as a member of the ever-growing Grimaldi Historic Sites network, a project launched in 2015 as a way of forging modern-day connections with the numerous locales across Europe that enjoy historic ties to the Principality.

 

A two-day tour of Mayenne

Prince Albert’s tour of Mayenne began with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the town centre and a visit to the Grand Logis, a private property formerly linked to the Grimaldi family.  

Mayenne’s Mayor Jean-Pierre Le Scornet is pictured with Prince Albert. Photo credit: Axel Bastello / Palais Princier de Monaco

Next came a stop at the imposing medieval Château de Mayenne, which is now a museum. 

Despite the rain, many local people turned out to listen to the Prince give a speech on the beauty, heritage and virtues of Mayenne in the gardens of the castle.  

His first day concluded with the Mayenne International Piano Competition, during which he was invited to present an award named in his honour.

The second day of the tour saw Prince Albert visit a local fabric manufacturer, Les Toiles de Mayenne, and a dairy industry museum, La Cité du Lait. From there, he travelled to the town of Laval to explore an exhibit showcasing Monaco’s links to the department of Mayenne.  

Mayenne is the 75th commune to be formally invited to join the Grimaldi Historic Sites network.  

Click on the images below to see more:

 

Join the Monaco Life community – sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.  

 

Photo credit: Axel Bastello / Palais Princier de Monaco

Mirazur’s Mauro Colagreco cooks for Chinese and French Presidents at the Palais de l’Élysée

Mauro Colagreco, the three-Michelin starred chef and the mastermind behind Menton’s Mirazur restaurant, was one of two top chefs in France to be chosen to prepare the meals served at the Palais de l’Élysée during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official state visit earlier this week. 

The Chinese leader was treated to a gastronomic potpourri of French cuisine at the dinner held in his honour by France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday 6th May.  

Among those in the kitchen was local Riviera chef, Mauro Colagreco, whose flagship restaurant, Mirazur in Menton, was once hailed as the Best in the World.    

Mirazur catapulted Colagreco, who is originally from Argentina, to fame in 2006 when he earned his first Michelin star. This was followed by a second in 2012 and a third in 2019, making him the first chef not native to France to be awarded three stars in the French edition of the legendary Michelin Guide.  

During the recent state dinner in Paris, Colagreco was joined by the famous French chef Pierre Gagnaire. Together the duo prepared an entrée and a main course that had been conceived by the Palais’ habitual head chef, Fabrice Desvignes.  

The world leaders and their guests enjoyed crab meat and Oscietra caviar from Aquitaine under a veil of flowers as a starter. The main featured a suprême de poulette de Bresse with baby spinach and vin jaune du Jura. 

Maison Quatrehomme was entrusted with the cheese course, while pastry chef extraordinaire Nina Métayer was chosen to craft the dessert. 

The meal concluded the first day of Jinping’s official state visit to France, a moment toasted around the table with the finest French champagnes, wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux, and cognacs.  

Watch Mauro Colagreco’s Instagram video below to see more:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mauro Colagreco (@maurocolagreco)

 

Join the Monaco Life community – sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.  

 

Photo source: Mauro Colagreco, Instagram

Monaco Art Week 2024: dates and participants revealed

Monaco Art Week, an artistic journey through the Principality held under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II, will open its 6th edition this July in the presence of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and feature new galleries to its growing list of participants.

Galleries, auction houses and art enthusiasts are joining forces to offer a series of exhibitions across different districts, punctuated by events, meetings with artists and conferences from 2nd to 7th July. 

Sculpture, painting, fine jewellery and various forms of creation, ancient, modern and contemporary, will all be on show throughout the days.

Monaco Art Week is at the heart of a rich cultural week, running in parallel with the artmonte-carlo international fair from 6th to 7th July, and coinciding with the opening of the major summer exhibition in collaboration with Tate, ‘Turner, the Sublime Legacy’ at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, from 6th July.

Monaco Art Week 2024 will bring together 19 participants from various districts of the Principality: Artcurial; Boghossian; Christie’s; collect|mc; Hauser & Wirth; HOFA; Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo; Kamil Art Gallery; Lebreton; Elisabeth Lillo-Renner; Moretti Fine Art; NM Contemporary; Opera Gallery; Almine Rech; Galerie Retelet; Galerie Adriano Ribolzi; Sotheby’s; M.F. Toninelli Art Moderne; Teos Gallery.

For the first time, this year’s edition will welcome the Almine Rech gallery, newly installed on Avenue de la Costa, collect|mc association and the auction house Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo.

MAW 2023 at the Hofa Gallery / Yellow Korner. Photo credit: Alice Bensi

Monaco Art Week is supported by the Monaco Department of Cultural Affairs and is sponsored by ARTE Generali – Mourenon & Giannotti and SMT Société Monégasque de Transports.

Monaco Life is proud to be an official media partner of this year’s Monaco Art Week. 

You may also like:

Video: Gallery tour of Monaco Art Week 2023

Join theMonaco Lifecommunity – sign up for theMonaco Lifenewsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedInandTik Tok. 

Photo credit: Alice Bensi, taken at the Adrian Ribolzi Gallery

 

Monaco’s Constitutional Reserve Fund: What is it and how much is it worth?

Constitutional Reserve Fund

As of the end of 2023, the value of Monaco’s ‘nest egg’ Constitutional Reserve Fund exceeded €7 billion for the first time in history. 

The Constitutional Reserve Fund (CRF) was created by the Constitution of 1962. As explained by IMSEE, this ‘nest egg’ is an autonomous accounting entity, with its own assets, and enjoys a special status.  

It is made up of three distinct sets of assets: a gold reserve; liquid assets such as financial investments and bank balances; and illiquid assets, including property in Monaco as well as in neighbouring municipalities and state-owned shares and holdings.  

The CRF has grown exponentially over the last decade, rising from just over €4.5 billion in 2014 to a staggering €7 billion in 2023.  

It grew by an impressive 8.4% between 2022 and 2023 alone, an amount equivalent to more than €500 million. 

The illiquid portion of the fund experienced the largest increase in value in 2023. Around half of this section, roughly €2 billion in value, is composed of buildings, which provide a source of revenue through their rental incomes, while a further €1.7 billion is attributed to the state’s holdings and shares in companies such as Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer and concessionaires including the Société d’Exploitation du Grimaldi Forum, the Société d’Exploitation des Ports de Monaco, the Société Monégasque de l’Electricité et du Gaz and the Société Monégasque des Eaux. 

This section of the fund grew by 11% over the course of last year to amount to more than €4.35 billion. 

The liquid portion of the CRF also increased in value by 3.6% in 2023. By the end of the year, it accounted for over €2.3 billion of the fund’s assets. 

Monaco’s gold reserves now worth €343 million 

The value of Monaco’s gold reserves has been steadily increasing for some time, but experienced a significant 9.9% boost in value during 2023.  

According to Monaco’s Department of the Budget and the Treasury, the Principality’s gold reserves are now worth in excess of €343 million.  

Read related:

Monaco Government launches compulsory GDP survey for all economic actors in the Principality

 

Join theMonaco Lifecommunity – sign up for theMonaco Lifenewsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedInandTik Tok. 

 

Photo by Monaco Life

Well-balanced books: Budget surplus widens in Monaco

monaco

For the third consecutive year, state revenues outstripped spending in Monaco in 2023, bringing the budget surplus to almost €130 million. 

A new report by Monaco Statistics, also known as IMSEE, on Public Finances in Monaco in 2023 has identified a budget surplus of close to €130 million, with growth in state revenues significantly outpacing expenditures.  

2023 was the third year of a consecutive budgetary surplus after the budget deficit of more than €100 million in 2020, a year heavily affected by the Covid pandemic. 

In 2022, the surplus sat at an already comfortable €32.2 million, but the data from 2023 shows a vast 292% jump to a budgetary surplus of €126.3 million.  

State revenues neared €2.2 billion last year – an increase of 6% equivalent to €124.5 million on 2022’s figures. 

According to IMSEE, the rise can be attributed to the “€232.8 million growth in tax revenues, including commercial transactions”. 

Figures from Monaco’s Department of the Budget and the Treasury indicate that commercial transactions provided more than 50% of state revenues in 2023, up more than 15% on the previous year. Despite falling by almost 25% from 2022 to 2023, real estate – understood as all income from state-owned rental properties and public car parks – contributed just over 15%. Commercial profits, such as corporate income tax, and legal transactions accounted for 10.6% each.  

More than 40% of spending attributed to public works  

Expenditures also cleared the €2 billion mark, for the second year running, though the increase in spending was more moderate than the growth of state revenues.  

From 2022 to 2023, spending increased by just 1.5%, or €30.3 million.  

“This is mainly due to the €88.5 rise in public intervention expenditures,” reads the IMSEE report. “Operating expenses also increased, by €54.8 million.” 

Sovereign expenditure, spending related to the Palais Princier de Monaco and the Sovereign House, rose by a nominal 1.1% to €50.6 million.  

Capital investment spending and expenditure on public services, such as street cleaning, waste collection, public lighting and public transport, fell by 11.5% and 5.4% respectively.

Equipment and investment, a category covering spending on “major works, equipment and acquiring building [as well as] road, cultural, port, urban development, public health, social, administrative and sports projects”, accounted for more than 40% of expenditure. 

Read related:

Overall foreign trade grows to €3.7 billion, but trade deficit widens as exports fall

 

Join theMonaco Lifecommunity – sign up for theMonaco Lifenewsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedInandTik Tok. 

 

Photo by Monaco Life