Here are pictures from our first stop on the cruise, Cannes, France. As mentioned in this planning post, we immediately left Cannes upon arrival and headed to Monaco first. We used the train system for our travel for the day, and the first ride of the day was about an hour long to Monte Carlo, Monaco. We were just barely able to catch the changing of the guard ceremony at the Prince’s Palace, which had a large crowd gathered. From there we toured the Cathedral and then the Aquarium.

Later in the day, after some lunch down near the port of Monte Carlo, we headed toward the famous casino. Despite what I read earlier, a jacket and tie are only required in the evening. So we tried getting into the casino, but they wanted us to drop off our backpacks first. Since we don’t gamble, we just decided to skip out on the inside, especially since you can’t take pictures. From there we headed back to the train station and headed back toward Cannes, stopping in Nice, France along the way.

Our time in Nice was limited as we spent a little too long in Monaco. Looking back on it, we should have skipped the aquarium, as it wasn’t as impressive as I was hoping for. We were able to quickly see the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Nice, which is a very interesting building. After that, we strolled around the streets near the train station before it was time to head back to Cannes. Once in Cannes, we walked along the Boulevard de la Croisette before heading back for the ship. It was a very enjoyable day on the French Riviera.