The Principality is set to host Monaco Méditerranée this coming weekend, a two-day event transforming the Galerie Diaghilev at the Grimaldi Forum into a vibrant showcase of regional creativity and craftsmanship. Running from Saturday 11th July to Sunday 12th July, the exhibition positions itself as a central hub for those seeking to engage with authentic Mediterranean lifestyle and design.
Organisers have structured the event into four distinct villages, each designed to highlight a different aspect of regional identity. The ‘Fashion and Lifestyle’ section offers attendees a look at exclusive collections and artisan-made accessories, with a focus on how designers are blending heritage with contemporary trends. Complementing this, the ‘Art and Craftsmanship’ village features handcrafted pieces and contemporary works, creating a space where visitors can meet the creators behind the objects.
‘Gastronomy’ serves as another pillar of the event, with a dedicated area for tastings and culinary workshops. The programme aims to bridge the gap between local producers and the public, offering a chance to explore high-quality flavours from across the region. Rounding out the experience is the ‘Culture village’, which will host a series of talks, performances, and exhibitions aimed at exploring the diversity of Mediterranean history and modern cultural output.
Supporting a charitable goal
While the event highlights aesthetics and trade, it also maintains a philanthropic focus. Admission to the exhibition is set at €5, with all proceeds donated directly to the Association les Amis du Liban.
The event is open to the public on Saturday 11th July from 10am until 8pm, and on Sunday 12th July from 10am until 7pm. With its emphasis on direct dialogue between creators and the public, the show aims to cement its reputation as a key fixture on the Monaco summer social calendar.
Monaco has stepped up its L2 bus service on summer weekends, adding three extra buses on Saturdays and Sundays between 10am and 1pm since 4th July. The reinforcement runs until the end of the summer on the line that links the Salines car park, at the western entrance to the Principality, with Monaco-Ville, the old town on the Rock.
The move responds to the heavy passenger numbers seen on the L2 during summer weekends, particularly on departures from the Salines car park. The extra capacity is intended to improve comfort at the busiest times and keep journeys flowing between Salines and Monaco-Ville, which draws visitors to the Prince’s Palace, the cathedral and the Oceanographic Museum.
Park at the edge, ride in for free
Visitors arriving by car are encouraged to use the city-entrance car parks, and the Salines site in particular. Motorists who park there receive 10 free journeys on the Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco (CAM) network, enough for a car of up to five passengers to reach the Principality’s main attractions by public transport.
The Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince has launched its 2027 recruitment campaign, with applications now open for French and Monegasque nationals seeking to join the military unit responsible for protecting the Sovereign, the Princely Family and the Prince’s Palace.
Founded in 1817, the Prince’s Carabiniers play a dual role within the Principality, combining operational security with ceremonial duties. In addition to safeguarding the Prince’s Palace and supporting the Sovereign’s official engagements, the unit is a familiar presence at national celebrations, state ceremonies and major public events, including the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
Who can apply?
The Compagnie is recruiting Class 2 soldiers and is also seeking musicians to join its military orchestra.
According to the official recruitment criteria, applicants must be of French or Monegasque nationality, aged between 19 and 27, and meet the required physical standards, including a height of between 1.80 metres and 2.00 metres.
The selection process
Recruitment takes place over two stages. Candidates first complete eligibility tests covering general knowledge, mathematics, dictation, oral expression and physical fitness, including swimming and endurance running.
Those who successfully pass the initial stage progress to medical and psychological assessments before attending formal recruitment interviews.
Life within the Compagnie
The Compagnie notes that the role involves shift work and irregular hours, reflecting the demands of military service and the operational requirements of protecting the Sovereign and supporting official engagements throughout the year.
Beyond their operational duties, members also take part in ceremonial events and have access to a range of sporting, cultural and social activities organised within the unit.
How to apply
Applications for the 2027 intake are now open through the official Prince’s Carabiniers website. Interested candidates have until 22nd July 2026 to submit their application.
Just over two and a half hours from Monaco, the rolling vineyards of Italy’s Langhe unfold across the hills of Piedmont, home to some of the world’s most celebrated wines and one of the country’s great gastronomic regions. It’s a journey that swaps the Mediterranean for vineyard-covered hills, medieval villages and a slower pace of life.
I spent three days here in June at Scarpa Villas, a collection of beautifully restored farmhouses among the vines near Verduno, and discovered a region where exceptional food, wine and hospitality are simply part of everyday life.
The villas stand within Monvigliero, regarded by growers and critics as the finest cru in Verduno and one of the greatest sites in all of Barolo. The wider landscape of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014, and it is easy to see why: hills of vines in every direction, threaded with villages and castles. Alba, the nearest town of any size, is 20 minutes away. It is the capital of the white truffle, and the home of Ferrero, which is why the gianduja hazelnut chocolate you taste everywhere here is the direct ancestor of Nutella.
Renowned Scarpa wines alongside fresh local dishes, served with a view across the Barolo hills
The estate
Scarpa has been making wine here since 1900. It was founded by Antonio Scarpa, a merchant from the Venetian island of Burano who came to Piedmont for the vineyards and stayed for the woman he married. The winery bottled its first Barolo in 1940, early enough that it holds a rare privilege it still enjoys: it is one of the very few producers allowed to age and bottle Barolo and Barbaresco outside the official appellation boundaries, at its historic cellars in nearby Nizza Monferrato.
Each of the four villas is named after a Scarpa wine — Tettimorra for the Barolo, Tettineive for the Barbaresco, La Bogliona and I Bricchi for the two Barberas.
The Scarpa Villas surround the large heated pool, each with sweeping views over the vineyards
The villas
The four houses share a heated pool that looks straight down the valley, and they range from the intimate to the generous. La Bogliona, the smallest, sleeps six to nine and is lovely for a couple or a close group. Tettineive, the largest, takes up to 12 and is made for families, reunions and celebrations.
Inside, the exposed beams and warm terracotta of the old farmhouses have been beautifully restored, and the welcome is the kind of unhurried Italian hospitality that has you settled in within the hour. One evening a private chef cooked for us on the terrace as the light came off the hills; another opened with an aperitivo out in the vineyard. The estate even makes its own vermouth, from a recipe of more than 40 botanicals the family has kept secret since the 1920s and which forms the basis of the most delicious Scarpa aperitivo cocktail.
An escape at any time of year
Truffles, cooking and a day at the winery
There is no shortage of ways to fill the days. I took a cooking class and finally learned to make agnolotti, the little filled pasta the Langhe is proud of, and spent a full day at the Scarpa winery in Nizza Monferrato: a tour of the old cellars, a library of rare vintages reaching back to 1962, and a tasting lunch that made a persuasive case for the estate’s slow, patient way with its wines.
One afternoon we went truffle-hunting in the nearby woods with a local trifulau and his dog Ciara, watching it dart between the trees and dig. Together, we found a remarkable number of black truffles — and then had the pleasure of having them served to us for dinner by our Private Chef Alex Moro. It is the kind of heart warming experience that stays with you.
Beyond that, the villa team will arrange almost anything: sommelier tastings, e-bikes and Vespas through the hills, a sunrise balloon flight, yoga on the lawn, or a day trip into Turin.
Truffle hunting just metres from the Scarpa Villas estate
The castle at Grinzane Cavour
A highlight of the trip was a short drive to the Castello di Grinzane Cavour. The hilltop medieval castle was once home to Camillo Cavour, one of the architects of Italian unification, who was mayor of the village here for 17 years. Today it holds the first regional wine cellar in Piedmont, founded in 1967 and stocked with the great reds of the Langhe, alongside museums of local life and, every November, the World Alba White Truffle Auction — a charity sale that has raised more than seven million euros since 1999.
From its walls, the view over the Barolo vineyards is worth the trip on its own.
The cosy ambiance of Scarpa Villas
When to go
The region rewards a visit at any time of year. Come in late spring or summer, as I did, for long light and warm evenings by the pool; come in autumn for the white truffle season, when Alba’s famous truffle fair fills the town and the great reds are on everyone’s mind.
Whenever you go, the appeal is the same. This is serious wine country and genuine Italian hospitality, with views you will not want to leave, all within an easy drive of Monaco. Anyone who loves those things will simply love it here.
