#hello_monaco weekend: what to do on September 14th and September 15th

Life in Monaco is getting momentum after quite summer days. Here are a few suggestions what you could do this weekend here.

It is beautiful time of year to be outside. You can start with the organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco, Monaco Classic Week – La Belle Classe that reflects Monaco’s unwavering attachment to the sea and its maritime heritage that runs till Sunday 15 September 2019, in Baie de Monaco.

Launched in 1994, this biennial event stands out in that it brings together in one harbour the full spectrum of boats of yesteryear, from the small recreational craft to the luxury units: classic sailing yachts, 12’ Dinghies, motorboats, and period motor-yachts. Between tradition and the art de vivre la mer lifestyle, this is a week for strolling along the southern quay of the YCM Marina to admire these dames from another era, all restored to their youthful prime by their owners.

The meeting has not only retained its freshness, but also the spirit of the first powerboat meetings from 1904 when the Principality hosted the world’s industrialists taking part in nautical events.
It’s a week dedicated to the Yacht Club’s Art de Vivre la Mer philosophy, alternating events at sea, technical inspections, a culinary competition, the arts and elegance. “It is this sort of event that repositions Monaco as the city it was conceived to be, one centred around the harbour,” notes the Yacht Club de Monaco’s General Secretary, Bernard d’Alessandri. “Monaco is a yachting destination for both modern and traditional yachts.”

For the spirit of competition and charge of energy go to the French Premier League Football Championship: Monaco – Marseille on Saturday 14 September 2019, Louis II Stadium.

At the Salon Belle Epoque room of the Hôtel Hermitage, on Saturday 14 September 2019, the Lions Club de Monaco will organise a humanitarian event to fund a heart operation for a child at the Monaco Cardiothoracic Centre on Saturday 14 September 2019, at 8 pm Salle Belle Epoque, Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo.

Seize the light, make the memory. Two centuries of photography in the Principality

This event has the honour of the High Patronage of His Serene Highness the Sovereign Prince. During this charity evening, Mr Foulleron, the Director of the Prince’s Palace Photographic Archives, will comment on photographs depicting the Principality’s development through advances in photographic techniques. A presentation, a photography exhibition and a slideshow will provide entertaining additions to the evening. There will also be a tombola with some superb prizes to be won, including several paintings by contemporary artists, along with sculptures, a jewel set with rubies and diamonds, and ultra-high definition mounted photographs. The event has one vital objective, to give a child every possible chance of living a normal life, like every other child around the world.

The price of the dinner, including a ticket for the tombola, is 190 euros (all in a good cause). Registration is possible via the website, or by telephone.

“Mission Badu Island”, a photography exhibition that tells the story of the expedition by H.S.H. Prince Albert II and Les Explorations de Monaco to the small island of Badu, between Australia and Papua New Guinea is open till Monday 30 September 2019, in Musée océanographique de Monaco.

Another interesting event runs till 15 October 2019, the Grands Appartements (State rooms) in the Palace of Monaco will host an exceptional exhibition, Monaco, 6 May 1955. The Story of a Meeting (Monaco, 6 mai 1955. Histoire d’une rencontre).

Organised by the Palace of Monaco Archive and the Audiovisual Institute of Monaco for the 90th anniversary of Grace Kelly’s birth, this original new exhibition will place her first meeting with Prince Rainier III of Monaco in context and perspective.

After winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in March 1955 for her role in The Country Girl, Grace Kelly had been on the French Riviera the previous year to shoot Alfred Hitchcock’s film To Catch a Thief, which features an unforgettable scene on the heights of the Principality.

As guest star at the 8th Cannes Film Festival, Grace Kelly agreed to change her schedule for a last-minute meeting with the Prince of Monaco on the afternoon of 6 May 1955. Organised by Pierre Galante, journalist with Paris Match, this meeting, which almost never happened, was immortalised by Michel Simon, photographer for the magazine, and the Irish photographer Edward Quinn, who had long been working on the Riviera.

The photographs by these two privileged witnesses will be displayed together for the very first time. Whether carefully posed or taken on the fly, these snapshots of different formats attest to the interest and high technical and artistic quality of press photographers’ work.

Designed as a photographic tour through the Palace State rooms, this exhibition follows in Grace Kelly’s footsteps in the very places where she met Prince Rainier, around  the dress she wore that day, along with personal items, letters, testimonials, newspaper clips and film excerpts. All this documentation shows how the reportage, which went virtually unnoticed at the time, became legend, with its memories and anecdotes.

Less than a year after this brief but decisive meeting, Prince Rainier III married Grace Patricia Kelly, on 18 and 19 April 1956 in Monaco.

And if you want to learn more about other events and exhibitions that take place in Monaco these days visit our Calendar.

So have fun and enjoy your weekend!