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Monaco

Events at Grimaldi Forum and Ideas for After-Work

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As mentioned in my previous post, the three main sectors of MICE business in Monaco include finance, healthcare and new technologies. Major conferences around these industries are held annually at the Grimaldi Forum congress centre. But not only, the centre accommodates all sorts of events, also public exhibitions (such as the Art Lovers I visited while there), musicals, seminars, product launches and much more. It hosts even a very cool annual conference for clubbing, the Monaco International Clubbing Show (sounds like three days of party 😉 I really want to visit this show, must have lots of ideas for event planners!). Grimaldi Forum has in total 10 000 m² of exhibition space, 3 auditoriums, 22 breakout rooms and 2 spaces for catering.

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Important to mention that Grimaldi Forum is a green venue and has an ISO 14001 certification. For example, the building benefits greatly from the daylight.

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I was lucky to be there during the Art Lovers exhibition and see the utilisation of space.

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By Subodh Gupta

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Art Lovers Exhibition

On the upper floor, there is a lovely restaurant and event venue Zelo’s, where we also had lunch. On the weekend it’s a favourite party location but more quiet during the week (unless some major events are going on in Monaco). The venue can be also privatised on demand.

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We all know it, the conference is over around 4 or 5pm, so where next? Gala Dinner? Swimming pool or beach (which might be definitely the case in Monaco) or afterwork drinks and dinner with colleagues? Decisions decisions.

I know if I would organise an event in Monaco I’ll leave some free time for attendees to explore Monaco on their own, maybe will just include some suggestions in the welcome pack and let them choose. At major events not all the programme has to be scheduled from 8am until 10pm and it’s important to leave some free time for the attendees for leisure or to schedule their own meetings. Also, when the conference is over, attendees don’t always want the formality, maybe not event Champaign, but just a cold and fresh beer, lounge music and an informal chat.

So here I present you two such places in Monaco, that are just perfect for an informal nights out.

Stars ‘N’ Bars

Stars ‘N’ Bars is a USA style sports bar in the Harbour. Excellent service, drinks, music and big variety of dishes to choose from (Including American, Tex-Mex, Mediterranean, Asian and Indian). The most popular dish is obviously the burger. The walls indicate that the place is regularly frequented by celebrities and loved by locals. On the upper floor they have also an amazing event space, the Stardeck, for up to 500 guests cocktail style and for 200 seated. Overlooking the yachts, the venue has a stunning view by night (oh I just can’t get enough of this view).

One more interesting fact: Each May, the Grand Prix ‘paddocks’, where the F1 drivers set up their headquarters, is located just in front of the restaurant. Not to be missed.

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Brasserie de Monaco

If you want to skip dinner and want more snack and drinks, then I recommend you to go to the Brasserie de Monaco. Famous for brewing their own beer, you can taste a local Monaco beer. They have a live DJ playing and the atmosphere is great.

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La Condamine Market

La Condamine market is the latest addition to the MICE offer in Monaco. The indoor market offers variety of food and drink stalls that if booked for a private function, the delegates can try the different vendors and enjoy a casual atmosphere with live music (Kind of Oktoberfest atmosphere). I found the idea brilliant because the logistics of this place is just perfect to accommodate guests after a long day at the Grimaldi Forum and offer them a relaxed environment with good and healthy food and chilled drinks. I had the pleasure to try the Rice & Co. stall where, as the name indicates most of the dished are rice based. Not only I tried four different rice types, they have a gluten free rice cake, which is also the best seller! On a business or private occasion, make sure to check out La Condamine Market and you won’t be disappointed.

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Now when I finished the post and uploaded the photos I realise how much I miss Monaco. See you soon for more venues and ideas.

If you have questions about the venues or would like to share your experience, please don’t hesitate to share it in the comment section below. I would love to hear from you!

Read more posts about Monaco on The MICE Blog.

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Société des Bains de Mer de Monaco (SBM) – a ‘one stop shop’ for MICE in Monaco

The Société des Bains de Mer de Monaco (SBM) is a major player in the Monaco tourism, culture and entertainment industries and owns 4 hotels with a total of 834 rooms, 60 banqueting and conference rooms for up to 950 delegates, 33 restaurants and bars, 3 spas – including one of the largest in Europe, Beach Club – with Olympic pool and water sports, 23 tennis courts, 18-hole golf course overlooking the sea, 5 casinos and 2 night-clubs. Unfortunately I couldn’t visit them all but as you see all the facilities they have are enough to cater for any type of event, be it a conference, incentive or a product launch, a small board meeting or an annual conference.

Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions in Monaco – Introduction

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August was a very quiet month for B2B events in the UK, good reason to take some time off and travel to explore a new MICE destination. If you have been following my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds (Links on the right hand side) you know already that I was in Monaco, very dynamic, international and glamorous MICE destination on the French Riviera. I was hosted by Monaco Government Tourist and Convention Authority (MGTA) and during the five days I explored many venues, restaurants, hotels and leisure attractions I’m very excited to tell you about in the following posts.

The main sectors of MICE business include finance, healthcare and new technologies. In 2013 MGTA launched a new Monaco Convention Bureau campaign to promote the destination for MICE business and represent the values, expertise and assets of the Monegasque industry.

Based on my stay I present you some of the key elements that make Monaco an attractive MICE destination, and they include:

1. It’s affordable – Monaco has the image of the most glamourous destination on the French Riviera, but don’t let it scare you. It’s not more expensive than London, Paris, Moscow or other major city or resort. During the high season (April – Mid October) and during major events such as the Grand Prix the prices are higher than during the low season (Mid October – March), and of course it will be hard to get large allocation of room for your event, but you can benefit from hosting your event during the low season, when the prices are lower as well and hotels have higher availability.

2. You can have a helicopter airport transfer from/ to Nice Airport – Monaco is easily accessible by car, bus, train and helicopter from Nice Cote d’Azur International Airport and the airport has connections to the major cities. I bet helicopter is not the usual transfer your attendees are used to and can serve as a perfect incentive to create the ‘WOW’ effect. It’s also affordable and costs Nice/Monaco: €125 – Monaco/Nice: €110 – Return trip: €220, experience – priceless!

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3. Strong collaboration between the local tourist service-providers – during my stay I felt very welcome at all the hotels, venues and restaurants I visited. I felt the strong collaboration between the different service providers as they support and work closely with each other to assist the international visitor or event planner. The destination is very small and ‘everyone knows each other’, that means the destination works together as a whole to deliver the best experience to their guests.

4. It’s always a sea view – 99% of the event venues will have a breath-taking sea view. The other 1% of venues will have a view over the mountains or the city, which is not too bad either. I really couldn’t have enough of this view.

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5. Modern facilities – most of the venues I visited were relatively new of about 5 – 15 years old and some of them had already renovation works in progress. I was very impressed that the venues try to keep their facilities up to the highest standards.

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6. Easy logistics – you don’t have to worry about organising transportation for attendees between venues in Monaco. The delegates can walk from the hotel to Grimaldi Forum or to the restaurant, or to take the bus, which is very frequent and convenient. That brings me back to point 1 – the destination is affordable. Saving costs on transport can save you considerable costs on your event. Besides, attendees will enjoy walking and exploring Monaco during the lunch breaks, maybe going to the harbour or strolling through the Japanese Garden.

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Other aspects which make it a fantastic MICE destination are: safety, sustainable practices (including the Prince Albert II Foundation -Monaco based charity that invests in various environmental projects) and last but not least the excellent weather all year long.

Couple of general recommendations:

–          You can purchase bulk bus tickets and include them in the welcome packs.

–          You can purchase a booklet with entrance tickets for all major leisure attractions attendees can do on their own leisure time (e.g.- Musée Océanographique de Monaco, Grands Appartements du Palais Princier, Jardin Animalier and more).

–          You can purchase the big bus tour tickets and include them in the welcome packs.

During my stay I also met Pierre from the local DMC Raising Stones Events. It was very interesting to speak with him because he really knows everything and everyone in the Municipality and a source of creative ideas for events of all types and sizes.

Have you organised or attended events in Monaco? Would love to hear your experience and impressions, please share in the comments below.

That’s all for now and stay tuned for more updates to come in the following days!

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Read more posts about Monaco on The MICE Blog.

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